


Reading The Darkness Within

by Mythology_Is_My_Religion



Series: Reading Kurinoone's Universe [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-28
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:07:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 88,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25567183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mythology_Is_My_Religion/pseuds/Mythology_Is_My_Religion
Summary: The characters of Kurinoones story The Darkness Within read the story. Can they change the future with the knowledge they will gain?
Relationships: Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter
Series: Reading Kurinoone's Universe [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852843
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter One: Betrayal

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kurinoone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kurinoone/gifts).



> So basically, I finally managed to find a fanfiction depicting the characters of Kurinoone's universe reading her Harry Potter fanfiction, and it hasn't been updated in like FOREVER. So I decided to create my own.  
> The following story involves characters reading The Darkness Within, a Harry Potter fanfiction created by Kurinoone, who was inspired by A Shattered Prophecy, written by Project Dark Overlord.
> 
> Disclaimer: Everything recognisable belongs to the amazing J.K Rowling, except Damien, who belongs to Kurinoone. I am simply borrowing them. Everything in bold is Kurinoone's story.
> 
> Enjoy!

Sirius tugged Lily into the Room of Requirement, glancing behind him to make sure Damien, Hermione, Ron, Fred and George where following. They where, albeit with confused looks on their faces. Lily looked around the spacious room, filled with comfortable looking couches and a crackling fire. She noticed with ever increasing confusion the people standing around. James, Remus, Tonks, Alastor Moody, Severus, McGonagall, Kingsly, Arthur, Molly, Bill, Fleur, Charlie and Percy all smiled as she entered the room with Sirius and the kids. Well Moody didn't smile, but his grizzled expression did soften. James strode over to her, greeting Sirius with a clap on the shoulder and an, "alright Padfoot?" before turning and giving her a kiss. They broke apart as Damien made a disgusted noise.

The doors suddenly opened again, and everyone watched as Dumbledore strode in, carrying a book. "Good evening. I'm sure you are all wondering why you are here." Indeed they where. Lily was in her office preparing for the next lesson when Sirius waltzed in, grabbed her, and dragged her here, picking up the children along the way. He wouldn't answer her questions, instead claiming that Dumbledore sent him, and that he had no idea why.

"I have received some news, and a package," Dumbledore continued gravely, only the twinkle in his eye giving away his happiness at the moment. "The news, well there is certainly no easy way to say this but... the news... well..." He turned to look at where James and Lily stood with the Weasleys, Damien and Hermione. "Harry Potter is Alive."

An immediate uproar followed these words, exclamations of confusion emitting from the underage witches and wizards, "Who's Harry Potter? Why was he dead?" And denial coming from the adults, "They found a body Albus! He's dead! Impossible!" Throughout it all, James and Lily stood in stunned silence, hardly daring to hope that Dumbledore spoke the truth.

Dumbledore allowed them to go on for a few minutes, before loudly clearing his throat. "I assure, I speak the truth. I must beg of you now to listen to my explanation, and not interrupt." He motioned for them all to sit down on the couches, and after a moments hesitation they did. Lily, Remus, James and Sirius took up one couch, with Damien, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George on another. Molly and Arthur sat with Bill, Fleur, Charlie and Percy. Severus, McGonagall and Dumbledore occupied another, and the last was claimed by Tonks, Kingsly and Moody. Once they were all seated, and their attention shifted back to him, Dumbledore began his explanation.

"I have recently been informed by someone close to Voldemort that he never killed Harry Potter, but instead raised him as a son." James and Lily flinched, opening their mouths to interrupt, but Dumbledore held up his hand. "Despite what we believed to be true, the body we found was not Harry's. The person who gave me this information also gave me this." He brandished the book in the air. "This book details the life of Harry, not just his past, but also his future. They gave this to me in the hopes that we can change his fate."

"Who was it?" Lily croaked out. "Who gave that to you?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Narcissa Malfoy." At the protests this raised, he once again cleared his throat to silence them. "She revealed all this to me under the influence of Vertiserum, and I have checked this book over multiple times with numerous spells. She speaks the truth, and this book truly does detail the life of Harry."

Silence overcame the room, as they took this information in. The silence was broken by Damien. "Who's Harry? And why does he share our last name? Is he a relative of mine? Why would you think he's dead?" he shot his questions at his parents.

"Damien, Harry is your older brother." James sighed. "We believed he was murdered by You-Know-Who when he was only a year old." Hermione and Ginny gasped. "We didn't speak of him, tell you about him, because it was too painful. It still is. Which is why," he shot a pointed look at Dumbledore, "this better not be some sick joke or something."

"Never." Dumbledore proclaimed. "Read this book, and everything will become clear. Now who wishes to read first?" As everyone pondered the Headmasters words, which as usual made no sense, Bill raised his hand, and summoned the book over to him. He cleared his throat and read:

**"Chapter One: Betrayal"**

**'It really is creepy how much he looks like James.' Thought Lily. Even at the age of one, Harry, her son had such similarities to his father. His hair was just as unruly as James'. She had always told her husband to do something about his hair but James would always flash a dazzling smile ate her and continue to run his hand through his hair, making it messier.**

**'At least he has my eyes.' Lily thought thankfully as she looked down at the playing child in her lap. The emerald green of Harry's eyes made him look even more adorable. The raven haired child was currently sitting on his mothers lap, happily chewing on his toys and every so often he would look around at the door.**

**"Who are you looking for sweetie?" cooed Lily holding Harry close to her.**

"He's looking for me, isn't he?" James said with a sad smile. Lily nodded,

"Every night."

**She knew perfectly well who Harry was looking for. It was the same every evening, around seven, Harry would eagerly anticipate his father's return from work. Of course for an ordinary one year old it was not possible to be able to determine the time but Harry was no ordinary boy. For that matter neither were Harry's parents. Harry and his parents were a wizard family. James was a pureblood, while Lily came from a muggle family. Even so, she was one of the most talented witches of her generation.**

"That you most certainly are Mrs Potter," McGonagall smiled at Lily, her former, and favourite, student.

**As if on cue James arrived through the front door of the house looking a little dismayed, but at the sight of Harry and Lily, his hazel eyes lit up and a small smile graced his face.**

**"Hey, how's my little man?" asked James as he strode over to Lily and picked up Harry who was gurgling frantically to get his father's attention.**

"Man?" Damien said. "You never call me a man."

**"James, how many times do I have to remind you? He is a boy not a man." Lily reprimanded playfully.**

**James just shrugged and replied. "Boy is so... I don't know. It just sounds weird, like I am telling him off. He's my 'little man'." He said, cuddling Harry affectionately.**

**Lily smiled at her husband. In her opinion James just didn't want to sound too fatherly since he was only twenty three years old.**

"Oh yes, and he's simply ancient now." Sirius said with a cheeky smile, before James hit him over the head.

**Lily was just about to get up to get dinner when a knock interrupted them. James was instantly on alert. He silently handed Harry over to Lily and drew out his wand. He went over to the door and motioned Lily to go to the other room with Harry. Lily nodded and proceeded to the room quickly. Usually Lily wouldn't take an order from anyone, not even James, but ever since that wretched prophecy was made things had changed dramatically. They had moved to Godric's Hollow and only a hand selected few knew where that was. Lily waited apprehensively, wand held in one hand while still carrying Harry. She would hex anyone that as much as cast a shadow over her only son.**

"Mum... It's not... You-Know-Who is it? You're all gonna be okay, right?" Damien quietly asked. Lily shook her head no. No it wasn't Voldemort, and no, they weren't all going to be all right.

**She heard James mutter a spell that allowed him to see who was at the door. Suddenly the door was opened and Lily could hear laughing and a voice that she knew all too well. She let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding. She came out of her room and made her way downstairs. Sure enough there were her husband's old friends, Sirius and Peter. Sirius had annoyed Lily senseless in her years at Hogwarts, always goofing around with James and getting him into all sorts of trouble. Of course, James wasn't exactly the innocent party but since Lily was now his wife she preferred to blame Sirius. Peter was always so quiet that Lily sometimes wondered what he was doing being a Marauder. Remus was the only one Lily could have an intelligent conversation with. Unfortunately, he was not here tonight as he was having his little 'furry' problem as Sirius had so sensitively named his condition.**

Sirius avoided Remus' glare by turning his head pointedly away.

**"You could let us know you're dropping by Padfoot." Lily remarked as she handed Harry over to his Godfather who enthusiastically reached over and cuddled him as close as he could.**

**"Where is the fun in that?" He enquired as he gave Harry his trademark bark like laugh.**

**Harry was already waving his arms around and giggling at Sirius and his antics. Lily looked on affectionately at her son; he really was fond of his Godfather. Peter was also looking on and Lily wasn't sure if she was just imagining it or not but a look of regret flickered on his face. An almost pained expression was evident in Peter's eyes.**

"Why didn't I know?" Lily almost sobbed. Damien was taken aback by his mothers sudden mood change, and dread filled him. Something was going to happen. The tension was thick in the air.

**"Peter, are you okay?" she asked putting a hand on his shoulder.**

**Peter quickly looked away and shifted a little uncomfortably. "Yeah um…I just...just, had a long day...that's all..." he mumbled, looking positively sick.**

"Bastard." Snarled Sirius, looking absolutely murderous. Molly gave him a sharp look, but decided to let his language slide, given the situation they were reliving.

**"Don't talk to me about having long days." James joined in. "I have had the most supremely awful day."**

**"Oh, what happened?" Sirius quickly asked while still letting Harry pull on his shoulder length, dark locks.**

**"Well, with the attacks coming in left, right and centre, I don't know how much more we can take before it all goes pear shaped."**

**James had a sad look in his usual sparkly hazel eyes. James loved being an Auror even though he had admitted he had only become one since that was the career path Sirius had chosen but he quickly became very fond of his role as a fighter for the light side.**

"Really? You never told me that." Sirius tilted his head to the side, looking at James. "That's because I didn't want you to get an even bigger head." James snarked, to laughter.

**However, after the prophecy was made about Harry, James was increasingly becoming more and more paranoid. He didn't like the idea of his child being faced with such a huge responsibility. 'Saving the World' that was his job, not Harry's.**

"My son should never have been involved in any on this." James looked down sadly, and Lily took his hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

**So James being James was working day and night to eliminate Voldemort's forces. However, this was becoming more and more stressful. Voldemort always seemed to be one step ahead of the Aurors.**

**Sirius looked a little disheartened by the look on his best friend's face. Sirius, Remus and James were Aurors, as was Peter but James was the one most focused on the war. He wanted it over and done with so that Harry could have a normal life.**

'Lot of good that did him.' Snape thought, without the courage to say it out loud.

**Lily sighed and lifted the playing form of Harry from Sirius and gently rocking him, took him upstairs to his room. There she gently placed him in his cot and smoothed his hair down in another futile attempt to make his hair seem somewhat tidy.**

"I wonder if he looks like you Dad?"

"I hope he does," Lily exclaimed. "He looked so much like him as a baby, I can only imagine what he looks like now."

"Well, we will get a chance soon love, a chance to be a complete family." James smiled at the very thought. Getting Harry away from Voldemort would be the hard part, but sitting down with him and explaining everything, there were no doubts in his mind that Harry would join their little family again very quickly. After all, why would he not?

**"You may think this is funny now, Harry, but trust me, when you're older you won't find settling your hair amusing at all." Lily told the small raven haired boy as he giggled and tried to grab his mother's fingers as she gently stroked his hair. Lily turned and left her boy playing happily in his cot.**

**She was just making her way downstairs when she suddenly realised with a sickening feeling that something was wrong. It wasn't something she heard but in fact the lack of sound at all. The three men in the living room were deathly quiet. That in itself was odd since Sirius happened to be present. Lily quickly took out her wand and took a deep breath. What she saw as she entered the room would haunt her for the rest of her life. There on the floor was the body of her James with a growing pool of blood near his head. A broken bottle of firewhiskey was lying not too far away. Sirius was also lying on his back completely unconscious.**

"Oh my God!" Hermione gasped. Lily squeezed her eyes shut as she vividly remembered what was to happen next. There was nothing she regretted more than not turning around.

**"Oh God!..James!..James!"**

**Lily rushed towards her husband, completely forgetting the third person who was in the room. If Lily had noticed him, standing just behind the door, she might have been able to stop the tragedy that was looming near. As Lily came towards James, Peter who was pointing his wand at Lily came up behind her and attacked before she could reach her husband.**

**"Stupefy" he whispered.**

"Mum he hurt you! I'll kill hi-"

"No you most certainly will not." James sternly said.

"Yeah pup, that's our job," Sirius added, to the horrified looks of Lily, Molly and Hermione and a nod from Remus.

**Lily fell, unconscious even before she hit the ground. Peter looked at his former friends, all of them lying on the floor of their own home, hurt and betrayed by their own friend. He took a shaky breath and tried to calm his frantically beating heart. He was certain that if he hadn't cast the silencing charm on the door then Lily would have been able to hear his heart thumping in his chest more loudly than the bottle breaking during the attack James and Sirius has so unrepentantly received.**

**He cast another regretful glance at his friends and then left the room clumsily and made his way to Harry's room; all the time repeating under his breath "Forgive me, Harry…sorry James…Sirius, so sorry."**

"Not forgiven _Wormtail_ ," Sirius hissed.

**He had not thought he would get this far. He had hoped that James or Sirius or even Lily would have been able to stop him from doing this, but since they didn't expect him of any sort of betrayal, let alone an attack and kidnapping of Harry, he had managed this far. He didn't want to do this but there was no other way. The Dark Lord was very clear in his instructions. Harry was going to meet his fate at the hands of Voldemort himself.**

**He slowly opened the door and found Harry sleeping soundly clutching his stuffed toy hippogriff. Peter looked down at the sleeping child and felt the horrible sensation of guilt wash over him. He was leading this child to his death. Harry was only a year old, he was just a baby.**

"YES! HE WAS A BABY PETER! MY BABY! WHY! WHY WOULD YOU-" Lily broke down, sobbing into James' shoulder as Damien looked on, horrified to see his mother so broken. Molly moved over and sat next to Lily, wrapping her arms around her, offering comfort, mother to mother.

**Peter had felt just as happy at the birth of Harry as the rest of the Marauders, but once the prophecy had come to light things had changed. This boy was prophesized to bring down the Dark Lord. But for Peter, the Dark Lord had to win this war. Peter would have power beyond anything he could imagine. The boy had to go. Convincing himself that he was only ensuring his own survival, he gently lifted Harry and carried him out of the room, downstairs and without another glance at the three bodies lying on the floor, Peter opened the door and left Godric's Hollow forever.**

**xxx**

**Peter ran to the edge of the wards placed around the cottage and apparated to his Lord's lair. His master was waiting for him, surrounded by only two members of his inner circle. With shaky hands Peter placed Harry on the stone floor at Lord Voldemort's feet. Harry was surprisingly still fast asleep and didn't even stir. Peter quickly dropped to his knees and crawled to Voldemort and kissed the hem of his robes while speaking in a shaky and quiet voice.**

**"Master, I have done what you asked of me. Master, this is Harry."**

**Voldemort turned his scarlet eyes to the sleeping child and let his face break into a satisfied smile. He was an attractive man**

Everyone flinched at this. It was true, but they refused to think of him as attractive. He was a murderer, a monster, and to them, ugly.

**with long dark hair and features that had gotten him a lot of interest in his younger years. The only thing that showed the true monster within was his pair of devilishly red eyes which seem to burn into whoever dared to look at him. He tore his eyes away from Harry and looked at the cowering form of his spy Death Eater.**

**"Rise Wormtail, You have done well. For once you have not messed up and have actually completed a task." He watched the pitiful man rise shakily, uttering his gratitude and go on and on about what a gracious Lord he was. "Enough!" Voldemort hissed, instantly quietening Peter. "Bella, lift the boy and let me have a closer look at the brat!"**

**Bella came almost instantly to lift Harry off the cold floor and hold him up to the Dark Lord for him to see.**

**Voldemort took in all the detail of the child. He was disgusted with children in the whole. He had not quite forgotten how children had taunted and ridiculed him in that horrible orphanage that had been his past.**

Moody took note of this, prepared to research this orphanage later. Anything to help him understand that monster better.

**However, this child had a powerful magical aura that seemed to hover all around the boy. He was exceptional, there was no doubt about that and if Voldemort had let the child live then the Potter brat would most likely be his downfall.**

**'Such a waste of power' thought Voldemort. He drew his wand and heard the breaths sucked in by the Death Eaters present. He smiled to himself, this was going to be sweet and he was going to enjoy every moment of it.**

**He pointed the wand at Harry's head just as the child opened his emerald eyes and looked innocently at Voldemort. There was a muttered incantation and a sudden blinding green light filled everyone's sight. Peter closed his eyes just before the spell was uttered, but could still sense the green penetrate his closed eyelids.**

**'Sorry Harry' was all he could think, as the blinding light faded and threw everyone into darkness once more.**

Lily let out a sob at the last line, believing, no matter what Dumbledore said, that Harry was dead.

**xxx**


	2. Chapter Two: The Dark Prince

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! So once again, anything recognisable belongs to J.K and Damien belongs to Kurinoone. So I know it might be a little early to start talking about this, but should I maybe do the second story in Kurinoone's trilogy too? Let me know! Also please Review!

Everyone sat in a shocked silence as they took in what was just read. Lily sobbed as she remembered seeing James lying on the floor, a pool of blood around his head. She remembered waking up in the hospital, and being told that while her husband was safe, her baby was gone.

James remembered the day Aurors found little Harry's body. After reading that, it was hard to believe that he was still alive. As Dumbledore looked around the room, taking in everyone's expressions, he knew they didn't believe that Harry was alive. "I know what you are all thinking, but you must have faith. Voldemort," all around the room people flinched, "did not kill Harry that night. Something changed his mind, and I believe that if we continue to read, we may find out what." He turned to James and Lily, "I know this is hard, but please, I beg of you to listen with open minds. It may be the only way to get Harry back." 'And win this war,' he thought to himself. He dared not say it aloud, for fear of how the protective parents would react.

Fleur took the book and opened it to the next chapter, clearing her throat with a delicate cough.

 **Chapter 2: The Dark Prince"** She read.

**Lily sighed and put down the papers she was desperately trying to mark. Potions was a much more difficult subject than most people gave it credit for. She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her tired neck; she had been trying to get all the marking done before she retired to her bed for the night.**

**She glanced at her surroundings. Her staff quarter at Hogwarts was really homely, despite it being located in the dungeons. She had given the place a woman's touch by decorating the cement walls as best she could. Around her desk she had pictures of her family. She always felt more comfortable to be able to look up from her work and see the face of a loved one. She hardly got a chance to see James anymore. What with her teaching Potions and him out on Auror duty, and then they both were members of the Order of the Phoenix. This took up all of their time. Holidays were the only time she got to be with her family.**

Lily gasped. "James, oh Merlin James!" she grabbed James by the arm, shaking him. "James these thoughts! This happened just last night! James this means..."

"Means that we get to see Harry soon..." James trailed off with a grin. He would meet his son again for the first time in over 14 years soon. He wondered how Harry would react. Surely he would be glad to meet his real father? Who knows, he may even get a hug. James settled back onto the couch with a happy smile.

**She would have worked for the Order full time if it wasn't for her son, Damien. He had started Hogwarts two years ago and she had taken up the post as the Potions professor as soon as it was offered to her.**

"Awww come on mum! I'm a good boy!" Damien whined, yet just like his parents he couldn't help but smile, exited by the prospect of meeting his brother.

"Damien, I'm about as likely to fall for that as James is to quit his job!" Everyone laughed, no matter the reason why he joined, everyone knew that James would never quit his job at the Ministry. He loved it too much.

**She knew Damien was going to complain that he couldn't get up to any mischief while his own mother was present but that had hardly been a reason for her not to take the job. She sighed again and took hold of his photo. It was taken only last year when Damien had been a first year. Unlike his older brother, Damien was not a spitting image of James. He still had the black hair but it was not messy like James. He had James' eyes, deep hazel eyes that he always used to get out of trouble, again very much like his father. His features though were like Lily. He had his mother's nose, her mouth and even her smile. He had inherited her fiery temper as well. He was quite a mix of the two. Sirius had taken it on himself to turn Damien into a James rival at trouble making. Of course Damien was all too eager to learn from a Marauder.**

Sirius and Damien grinned at each other.

**Lily gazed at the picture of James and felt her heart ache with the pain of missing him. She had not seen him for the last two weeks. But that pain was nothing compared to the anguish which took hold of her every time she looked at the picture next to his. The picture had been taken only 3 days before he was….taken. Lily turned her emerald eyes to the portrait of her eldest son, Harry. He was giggling and pointing at her. Her heart constricted so painfully when she looked at her baby. She looked away from the picture and to the small calendar on her desk, the date today, May 31st. She felt her breath hitch in her chest. 'Two months' she thought 'two months exactly and he would have been sixteen years old, starting his sixth year at Hogwarts'.**

Damien turned to his mother, "How come I have never seen that picture? I've been in your office countless times for detention, and even more often just visiting you..."

"It has a notice-me-not charm on it, I didn't want you asking questions." Lily explained. "Do you want to see it now?" Damien nodded with a smile, so Lily used a quick accio spell to summon the photo to her. She gently caught it, and carried it with reverence over to Damien. All the children on the couch gathered around, cooing at the sight of little Harry giggling and pointing at them. Damien looked up with wonder in his eyes. He looked straight past Lily to James.

"Dad, he looks just like you." James just smiled, not saying anything. He couldn't wait to see Harry, and he would bet anything that he looked just like him. Fleur cleared her throat and started reading again once Damien set the photo of Harry where everyone could see it, on a table in front of all the couches. He didn't know just how much they were going to need that reminder of Harry's past innocence in the chapters to come...

**She had always thought of Harry like this. It was difficult for James to talk to her every time she brought up the subject of Harry and what he would have been doing if he were alive. James had taken the emotional blow of losing a child much harder than had been expected. After all it was** **_his_ ** **friend that had stolen Harry from right under their roof and had handed him over to a monster. James had vowed to take revenge on both Peter and Voldemort for killing Harry. James had been lucky not to have been killed in the attempt that Peter had made. He had lost a lot of blood and the blow to his head had him knocked out for a whole fortnight. He had always blamed himself since he was not able to protect his son. It took him months to finally utter something other than 'I 'm sorry, Harry…forgive me son….couldn't protect you.'**

Arthur looked at James. "It wasn't your fault, no one could have predicted Peters betrayal. You did the best you could, and blaming yourself won't bring Harry back." Lily smiled at Arthurs words and squeezed James' hand, whispering in his ear,

"No, but soon, soon he will come back to us."

**Two years later, Damien's arrival gave James a second life. Only with Damien in his life did James become himself again. He was very protective of their second son, even more so than Lily. He still let Damien have his fun though, and even Lily had to admit that there was probably no other child quite as spoilt.**

"I'm not spoilt!" Damien cried outraged. Lily smiled at him.

"Oh really, name one thing you haven't gotten." Damien struggled to think of something, before an idea popped into his head.

"The new Firebolt! I haven't got that."

"Damien... the new Firebolt isn't even out yet, you said so yourself a few weeks ago," Hermione gently reminded him.

"Oh..." Damien sunk low in his seat. "Right, well... carry on then." He nodded at Fleur, who resumed reading.

**Still, Damien was a good boy, and he never took too much for granted.**

Hermione snorted. 'Except his good grades,' she thought.

**Lily tore her eyes away from Harry and rubbed them wearily. She got up and made her way to the small living quarter that held her four poster bed. She was just about to snuggle into her bed when a gentle tapping alerted her to the window. She looked out of her oval window and saw a small brown owl gazing at her. Lily smiled and rushed to the window to let the small creature in. The owl hooted happily and immediately stuck out his leg presenting a small scroll. Lily took it gratefully and didn't notice the owl taking flight immediately. Lily knew the letter was from James as he always sent ministry owls. She quickly tore the envelope open and started reading the letter.**

**_Dear Lily_ **

**_How are you honey? I hope you are keeping out of trouble._ **

"James, me and you chase Dark Wizards for a living... and you're telling a potions mistress to keep out of trouble?" Sirius said.

"You never know, a student might make a... potion... explode... or something." James defended.

**_Which reminds me, how is our little troublemaker? Hope you're not keeping him in many detentions._ **

"I practically _live_ in her office, dad, you gotta save me." Damien whined.

**_Tell Damy that I have got the World Cup tickets and that we will definitely be going to watch it. Bulgaria and Ireland!_ **

"Yes!" Damien turned to James, "Dad that's fantastic! And we all know who's gonna win.."

"Bulgaria!" Damien and Sirius cried at the same times James shouted, "Ireland!" This was followed by a playful glaring match.

**_So excited! Can't wait for it! But ahem… how are you keeping dear?_ **

**_I will hopefully be coming this weekend to see you; maybe we can go to Hogsmeade when I'm over._ **

**_Take care sweetheart and give my love to Damy._ **

**_James._ **

**Lily smiled and put the letter aside. James and Quidditch, there was just no separating the two. Damien would be pleased though, he had been going on about tickets to this game for the last three weeks. She knew that James supported Ireland while Sirius and Damien had always been Bulgaria fans.**

**'This ought to be interesting' Lily thought as she crept into her bed and pulled her covers up. She was so tired that she was instantly half asleep. Her last coherent thought was 'I wonder who Harry would've supported…'**

James opened his mouth to say Ireland, but was interrupted by a snort from Snape. "Got something to say Snivellus?" Sirius asked sweetly.

"The Potter brat has been raised by the Dark Lord. Use what little sense you have, do you really think that he would be allowed to watch Quidditch?"

This left the majority of the room horrified. The purebloods had been raised playing and watching Quidditch, and to think that Harry was denied that privilege...

**xxx**

**In a darkened room, littered with various books and parchments sat a tall dark haired wizard. His blue eyes were fixed on the glass in his hand, as he sat on his sofa chair. He gazed at the amber liquid inside the glass as if expecting it to change colour. Truth was that he hardly noticed the liquid. His mind was distracted by another, very disturbing matter.**

**He knew what he was doing was dangerous, very dangerous. In fact, he was certain others thought he was out of his mind to try and pull such a stunt. Blackmailing the Dark Lord was not something to consider lightly. But he knew that if he succeeded in his task, he would have untold powers. He was already in Lord Voldemort's inner circle, part of the elite group of individuals. But the Dark Lord would give him whatever he wanted in exchange for him to keep quiet. He could very well be the most powerful Death Eater. It was worth the risk.**

**Jason Riley's hand shook as he thought again what he was risking.**

**He had heard the rumours, whispers among the other Death Eaters about the one who served the Dark Lord. The one who no one had seen but yet knew existed.**

Everyone unconsciously leaned forward at this.

**He didn't believe it, not completely. He told himself the D _ark Prince_ was just a myth, fabricated and exaggerated to scare them, to keep them in line. But there were the deaths of many talented and powerful Death Eaters that were accredited to the Dark Prince;**

Sirius' brow furrowed at this. "But if this Dark Prince works for Voldemort, why would he be killing his men?"

"Maybe they wronged him like Riley is doing," Damien said. "And Voldemort is sending someone else to do the dirty work."

James looked proud of his son's logic.

**Yaxley, Davidson, Hugh, Patterson and about half a dozen more were all rumoured to have been killed by the Dark Prince.**

"Then he's got nothing against us!" Sirius said, a wide smile on his face. "I never thought Voldemort would _help_ us win the war."

Lily looked unnerved, though. "Those were Death Eaters we've been having a lot of trouble with for the past years."

Remus nodded in agreement. "Whoever this Dark Prince is, he's powerful. And what if Voldemort starts sending him to kill off _Order_ members as well?"

Sirius sobered at this thought. "I'd like to see him try to take me down," Sirius said griml

Meanwhile James had another thought path. He voiced his concerns to the room, "I hope Harry was raised far away from this Dark Prince fellow... He's a bad influence. I don't want my son affiliated with a killer."

**Jason brought the glass to his lips and downed the rest of his drink, hoping to drive the cold fear out of his chest. Just as the empty glass touched the table, the lights flickered momentarily before going out altogether. The Death Eater sat frozen in his chair as the room was thrown into darkness. He grabbed for his wand, his knuckles turning white with his strong grip. Slowly he stood up, his eyes darting to all corners of the room.**

**"Lumos" he whispered and the end of his wand lit but the light was still not enough to be comforting.**

**Gripping his lit wand tightly in his hand, Jason Riley walked across the room, towards the door. He knew** _**he** _ **had come. He was certain of it.**

Hermione whimpered. The tension was thick in the air.

**Jason opened the door slowly, his mind telling him he should not be this afraid. Standing at the threshold of his door, Jason waited to see if anything happened. He couldn't see anyone. He held his lit wand high above his head but he still couldn't see anyone.**

**Just as he walked out of the room, he felt it, the sudden change in the air around him. He could almost taste the magic in the air.**

"This Dark Prince must be powerful, for this Jason Riley guy to sense his magic. I have to concentrate really hard to sense yours, Headmaster, and your the most powerful wizard I know!" Sirius exclaimed. The Aurors were worried, a powerful wizard killing on You-Know-Who's orders was not a good thing.

**He stopped where he was and stood still. Fighting down the panic, he spoke, without turning around to face his visitor.**

**"I was certain you were going to come." He said, speaking with his back turned.**

**"And yet, you still weren't prepared." came the reply.**

**Jason turned around slowly to face his visitor. He was trying his best to peer through the darkness to see him. He could just make out his silhouette.**

**"You are here to kill me?" Jason asked, fear pulsing through him.**

**The figure stepped forward so the light from Jason's wand could wash over him. Jason took in the appearance of the wizard standing before him. Clad in dark robes, face hidden behind a silver mask which only exposed the emerald green eyes,**

Fleur stopped reading, looking up into Lilys horror stricken eyes. Her emerald green eyes. The room was silent. "Please no." Lily whispered brokenly. "Please don't be Harry."

**stood the one who all the Death Eaters had come to fear; the Dark Lord's son, the Dark Prince.**

Lily sobbed as Fleur once again stopped. The room looked on in sympathy as James tried to comfort Lily, but failed. How could he reassure her when he himself was feeling the same sadness the same anger. For that's what every occupant in the room felt. As they gazed at the photo of little Harry on the desk, and watched as he giggled at them all, they felt their anger turn to hate. Voldemort had turned that innocent little boy into a killer. A murderer. They all made a silent vow to bring Harry back to them, before it was too late, 'and,' the Aurors silently added, 'kill that monster who made him into a killer.'

**"You betrayed Lord Voldemort. Your punishment is death." The words were spoken with a hiss of anger.**

"Harry no..." James looked down. His son was so brainwashed by that... that... monster. it broke his heart.

**Jason noticed that although the boy before him was holding his wand, he wasn't pointing it at him. He tried to use this to his advantage.**

"Get your wand out boy." Growled Moody. Dumbledore looked at him pondering. He seemed to be on Harry's side for now, but would it remain that way once he discovered who was responsible for the death of the Longbottom's?

**"If you give me another chance, if you could only give me a chance to apologise. I didn't mean to…AVADA KEDAVRA!" Jason made a sudden move, firing the killing curse at his opponent.**

"NO!" Cried James, Lily, Damien, Sirius and Remus. The others watched tensely. They desperately hoped that they wouldn't have their chosen one snatched away from them.

**The silver masked wizard leapt out of the way, missing the jet of green light. Jason quickly took aim and tried once again to kill him.**

An audible sigh went around the room. Even Snape relaxed from his previously tense position. He was not worried for Harry, but rather Lily. He knew she would not cope with losing her son a second time.

**Before the words left his mouth properly, his wand was suddenly wrenched from his hand. The force of the nonverbal disarming spell was so sudden and powerful, it caused the wand to be ripped away from him. The room was plunged into darkness once more as Jason's wand extinguished when it hit the floor.**

"Nonverbal and wandless?" Screeched McGonagall. "Albus this boy, he's exceptional." There were nods around the room. Many contemplated the idea of Harry killing Voldemort, after all, it seemed he was capable of doing so.

**The Death Eater took his chance and ducked low to avoid getting hit by any curses. He darted towards the staircase, keeping as low as possible.** **He had raced down the stairs and darted towards the fireplace, aiming to floo out of here. He had only reached the bottom of the steps when he felt a spell zoom over the top of his head. He ducked instinctively. That was when he felt the tip of a wand press into the back of his neck.**

**"Up!" came the command and the Death Eater slowly rose to his feet.**

**He was a good three or four inches taller than the Dark Prince but that didn't comfort him in anyway.**

**"Please" Jason tried again.**

**The lights flickered on again and Jason found himself looking straight into a pair of startling green eyes, which to his dismay, had no pity in them.**

**"You're a traitor, and traitors only have one punishment." The Dark Prince hissed at him.**

"No Harry... baby please don't..." Lily whispered, raising shaky hands to cover her mouth as she clung to Fleur's every word.

**Before Jason could do anything a jet of green light struck him straight between the eyes and the Death Eater fell to the ground, dead.** **The Dark Prince only took one look at the corpse beside his feet before turning around and leaving. His assignment completed.**

Silence suffocated the room. Everyone lost in their own thoughts. Lily and James sat, shocked at the turn of events. To be told their child was alive was one thing, but to then find out that he was a killer, an assassin for Voldemort? They didn't know what to do, where to look. They sent shaky smiles to a traumatised Damien, relieved to see his friends comforting him. The poor boy had always wanted a brother, and now that he had one... he found out that he was a brainwashed servant of Voldemort.

The silence was broken by a growl from Sirius, but it was Remus who spoke, murderous intent clear in his voice. "I'll kill him. I'll kill Voldemort for what he's done." For the first and last time no one flinched at the Dark Lords name, to angry to be afraid. Their fear would come though, and with a vengeance, as they had no idea what lied ahead.

**xxx**


	3. Chapter Three: Killings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! As per usual, I don't own anything in bold, anything recognisable belongs to our god, J.K Rowling and Damien belongs to Kurinoone. Oh and Harrys backstory in this kind of does too. Without further delay, onto chapter 3!

The silence was interrupted by Tonks summoning the book over to herself with a lazy flick of her wand. True to her clumsy nature, she missed catching it, and it smacked into a disgruntled Kingslys face. He passed the book to her, ignoring her stuttered apologies and sheepish smile. Tonks cleared her throat and began to read.

**"Killings"**

Lily flinched at the title, her hands still trembling from having to hear about her oldest child killing a man. James grabbed her shaky hands, covering them with his own, and smiled reassuringly at her.

**Lily was not amused. She had been looking forward to seeing James for over a fortnight now, and as soon as he had come, they both had not even been able to say two words to each other before Professor Dumbledore had requested an urgent Order meeting.**

Lily looked sheepishly over at Dumbledore. He smiled at her with an amused twinkle in his eye as Sirius laughed. Lily groaned, placing her head in her hands and muttering, loud enough for the whole room to hear, "Why are my thoughts always being read aloud?" Laughter was heard around the room, as Sirius and James teased Lily good-naturedly.

**James had not even been able to say hello to Damien yet.**

Damien pouted. "Unfair," he muttered.

**She sat with her arms crossed against her chest and was trying not to get her foul mood to show. Honestly, a couple of minutes with her husband were all she wanted, was that too much to ask?**

"Aww Lily! I had no idea that you felt this way!" James cried with an exaggerated swoon.

"James I married you. I think my feelings are pretty obvious." Lily deadpanned to Sirius laughter.

**Her thoughts were cut short when the room suddenly quietened down. James took his seat next to Lily and gently squeezed her hand. She looked up at him and gave him a half heartened smile. Looking around the room she saw all the familiar faces that were all looking tired and a little dishelved. There was the forever paranoid Mad-eye Moody, sitting next to Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt. Tonks was clearly noticeable with her bubble gum pink hair.**

Tonks paused. "Bubble gum pink, hey?" she pondered. Then, to a round of applause from Hermione and Ginny, she changed her previously bright yellow hair to a bubble gum pink.

**There was Remus and Sirius sitting next to James. Professor McGonagall and Snape were sitting near the front and were currently eyeing Professor Dumbledore with curious looks. Next to them were two empty seats that Lily tried to ignore. She didn't think she could bear thinking about them again.**

Everyone looked down, remembering Frank and Alice in a moment of silence. Moody cleared his throat and spoke, his voice thick with emotion. "If I ever find out who killed them, I'll murder them." Dumbledore looked away guiltily, thinking of Harry. Only Snape and McGonagall noticed though, and suspicious frowns formed on their faces.

**She looked around, there were other members also present that she was not very familiar with, and most were from the Ministry of Magic.**

**Her attention was drawn to the Headmaster who now stood in front of all the members. Albus Dumbledore was looking immensely tired and worn out, pretty much like everyone else. He cleared his throat and the already quiet room hushed into complete silence. He could see the expressions most were wearing; there were a few who looked annoyed at the last minute meeting while others were looking as if they were trying to prepare themselves for more tragic news. Dumbledore decided to share the reason for this meeting.**

**"Ladies, Gentlemen. Many thanks for being able to attend this meeting at such short notice. I am aware many of you had to cancel or rearrange your plans so I will not take much more of your time." Here he gave a significant look at Lily who seemed to blush and lower her gaze to her hands in her lap.**

**"It's okay, Lils, No one else noticed." Sirius joked to her.**

Lily threw Sirius a glare, elbowing him in the side. "OW! No beating me up for something that hasn't even happened yet Lils!" He exclaimed, rubbing his sore side.

**Lily threw him a sharp look but didn't say anything.**

"No doubt she would have elbowed him if she wasn't in an order meeting," Remus whispered to James, who sniggered.

**"The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the strange occurrences these past few months." Dumbledore carried on. "As you all are aware, there have been a number of attacks on Death Eaters in the past few months. Many were killed, some were gravely injured, but on purposely left alive. Many of these Death Eaters gave themselves to the Dementors of Azkaban _willingly_ to save themselves from any other attacks. This shouldn't be a cause of worry but since neither the Ministry nor the Order has taken responsibility for carrying out these attacks, it leads to the question of the identity of this attacker."**

"Well at least now we know it's the Potter brat," Snape sneered. James made to lunge at him, but Lily and Remus held him back. Everyone turned and glared at the spy, who looked away with a sneer still present on his face.

**The room was silent, every eye was on Dumbledore.**

**"The most recent attack was carried out last night. A Death Eater named Jason Riley was killed in his home. The Ministry claim not to be responsible and we know that the Order didn't do this. It leads to the question of who is tracking down these Death Eaters and killing them." Dumbledore finished sounding very worried.**

**"What does it matter? Whoever this is, they are killing Death Eaters. They are helping us. Why should this be a cause of worry?" Moody asked in his gruff voice.**

"It matters because it's Harry, Alastor! The little boy that used to crawl to you whenever Lily and James brought him to an Order meeting. He's just a boy!" Molly cried, to nods of agreement from all the Weasleys.

**A few murmured their agreement to Moody's statement.**

**"It is a cause of worry since we don't know who is doing this and for what reason." Dumbledore explained.**

**"Maybe there is another secret society formed. Like the Order, maybe someone has formed another group to fight against You-Know-Who and they are targeting Death Eaters." Tonks supplied.**

"It is so weird, reading my name out like that." Tonks shook her head in wonderment, before continuing to read.

**"That is a possibility." Dumbledore inclined his head in her direction. "However, I think it would be wise to find out the truth of this matter as soon as possible."**

**Lily noticed that there was something Dumbledore was stopping himself from saying. She had spent a lot of time with Dumbledore, firstly as a student and then as an Order member and finally as a member of his staff, to see that the age old wizard was unsure of saying what was on his mind.**

**"Dumbledore, is there more?" she asked wondering if he had some more news.**

"Ah, you know me too well, Mrs Potter," the Headmaster smiled warmly at Lily, who returned the gesture.

**Dumbledore looked at Lily and his blue eyes fixed to her as he struggled to say what was on his mind. With a sigh, he began.**

**"I have a suspicion, and at this point that is all it is, but from reading the case reports on the deaths of the Death Eaters, I think**

Tonks stopped, took a deep breath, and continued, stuttering over the next word.

**Voldemort**

There was a sudden intake of breath around the room, as Dumbledore sighed.

**may be responsible for the deaths."**

"How do you always manage to know exactly what You-Know-Who's doing Professor?" Ron said in amazement.

**There was a sudden intake of breath at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. Dumbledore gave a mental sigh. How many times had he told them that fear of a name was just plain silly.**

Tonks once again hesitated, before glancing up at her previous Headmaster and steeling her resolve. She made a silent oath to never hesitate in saying You-Kno-... Voldemort's name ever again.

**Voldemort wasn't going to appear if you said his name out loud.**

**"Why do you think that?" McGonagall asked, composing herself the best she could.**

**"As I have said, it is only a suspicion. What I do know for a fact is that if Voldemort's men had been targeted and killed like this, he would not be sitting back and allowing it to continue. From the reports we have, it doesn't suggest that Voldemort is planning anything to stop these killings. It seems he is actually happy with the demise of these men. It makes me think that maybe these men have wronged him in some way and so he has arranged to have them killed." Dumbledore finished.**

**"But why would he want to kill his own men? It doesn't make sense." Remus asked.**

"They've betrayed him," Damien supplied. Hermione shushed him, believing that the kids shouldn't speak, but James and Lily smiled proudly at him.

**"I don't know. This is why I think it is a good idea to find out as much information as we can." Here Dumbledore turned to look at Snape.**

**"Severus, I have to ask you to try and find as much information as you can. I have a list of all the names of the deceased Death Eaters. See if you can find out what mission they were a part of before they died. See if they upset Voldemort in any way."**

**Dumbledore passed the parchment onto Snape who took it but didn't look at it. His dark eyes were fixed on Dumbledore.**

"Did you know?" James turned to Snape. "Did you know about Har- The Dark Prince?" Snape hesitated in answering.

"Just like every Death Eater, I had heard rumours, but believed them to be nothing more than myths." James nodded, but Sirius wasn't done.

"It's your bloody job to report everything! Isn't that what a spy is for? You can't leave anything out, Snivillus." He glared at Snape who sneered back. Lily elbowed Sirius before he could say more.

"I want to read the book. Please. I need to hear about my son." Sirius nodded, leaning back to hear about his Godson.

**"That is all for today. I thank you for your patience." Dumbledore finished with a polite nod at everyone.**

**James stood up from his chair as did the rest. His head was spinning with the news.**

**"What do you reckon?" Sirius asked. "Do you think it's another secret society or You-Know-Who has just decided he needs new followers?"**

**Lily sent him a glare but didn't comment.**

**"I don't know Padfoot. It does seem strange." James said.**

**"I'm with Moody. I don't think we should care who is killing them, as long as it's Death Eaters he's killing, we should be grateful."**

Lily opened her mouth to shout at Sirius, but he held his hands up. "Lily, I don't know it's Harry okay? If I did, I would do anything to bring him back, you know that! I would never say those things!" She nodded, calm for now.

**Sirius continued, walking his friend to the fireplace. He had nowhere to go as the Headquarters was his home.**

**James didn't say anything. He silently agreed with Dumbledore. If Voldemort was concerned about the death of his men, he would be doing something about it. The fact that he wasn't concerned could only mean that he was the one ordering the killings.**

"At least some people are concerned," grumbled Moody. Everyone looked to Tonks, who passed the book to Kinglsy. He cleared his throat, and they prepared for the next chapter.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	4. Chapter Four: The Prince's World

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this? Another update? I'm on a roll!  
> Disclaimer: No matter how hard I may try, I do not, and never will, own Harry Potter. Anything recognisable is J.K Rowling's, Damien is Kurinoones, and Harry's backstory and the stuff in bold is hers too.

Kingsly cleared his throat, looking at the title and before glancing at James, Lily and Damien. He knew that they were finally going to be hearing about Harry, just like everyone wanted too. He began reading.

**The Prince's World**

Everyone perked up. Damien was bouncing excitedly, he was finally going to hear about his brother! He had a huge grin on his face, that was mirrored by his parents, Sirius and Remus.

**Harry sighed and tried again to concentrate. It was already difficult to get a hang on this stupid curse without the annoying pain in his scar that was breaking his concentration.**

"Scar?" The grin melted off of Lily's face as her motherly instincts kicked in. "What scar? Oh Merlin..." She couldn't help but worry about her baby. James looked furious, the anger radiating off of him capturing the attention of everyone. Lily squeezed his hand, "James...?"

"Who do you think put it there?" James growled. "Who do you think gave my son a scar? I swear if that snake abuses him..." Hermione, Ginny, Molly and Lily gasped in shock. Everyone looked down at the thought of Harry's loyalty to Voldemort being won through pain.

**He tried once more to pay attention to Bella as she ranted on and on about how he had to focus on causing pain and actually wanting the bone to break. It was the only way the bone-breaking curse would work.**

"Focusing on causing pain? They want him to focus on causing pain?" Ron gasped out, mouth hanging open in disbelief.

"They make him kill Ron, why are you so surprised?" Fred said, smacking him over the back of the head. "Er, no offense," he nodded towards James and Lily, who smiled sadly. they couldn't change what Harry had done, but they could bring him back and change the way he thinks.

**Her talk about pain was making Harry feel his own headache worsen.**

Lily bit her lip in worry. What was wrong with her son?

**He threw her an angry glare as she was clearly enjoying the fact that Harry for once, was not able to pick up on something that she herself was an expert in.**

"Well, at least we know he's good at magic..." Tonks trailed off seeing the looks on Lily and James faces. It was a mixture of pride that their son was so powerful, and sadness at the fact that they weren't the ones to teach him.

**"Aww what's the matter Prince, having an off day are we?" she sniggered while watching him rub his forehead in frustration.**

**"Lay off Bella, I'm in no mood for your crazy antics today."**

"Woah." Sirius said. "Careful Harry, don't make Bell mad..." he trailed off as he saw the looks of worry on everyone's faces. Harry had a scar, and he was just rude to Bellatrix Lestrange. Was he about to get another one for his behaviour?

**he replied while kneading his forehead with his knuckles.**

**She immediately wiped the smirk of her face and ran over to Harry.**

**"Harry, are you okay? Is it your scar again? Sorry Harry, I didn't realise."**

"WHAT?" Sirius yelled, disbelief evident on his face. "Did you read that right? Did Bella just apologise?" Kingsly repeated the line and Sirius sat back in awe. "Wow." He said, turning to James and Lily. "I know you don't want to recognise the fact that Harry cares for these people, but I hope you realise that they," he gestured at the book, "care back."

" _Appear_ to care back Pads," James snapped, "they're acting, must be."

"Forget that." Lily impatiently said. "Why is Harry's scar hurting. And why did she say again? Is this a regular thing?" She turned to Dumbledore for answers, however all he did was gesture for Kinglsy to continue reading.

**She was apologising while prying his hands away from his forehead and trying to determine how much pain Harry was in. Harry tried to block it best he could. He hated this. He was sick of being a mood determiner for his father. When he was younger, Malfoy and other inner circle Death Eaters used to ask Harry if his scar hurt before they went in to see Lord Voldemort. If it didn't hurt before it definitely hurt after they had gone in to see him.**

"So his scar is linked to You-Know-Who's emotions? Like, it hurts whenever He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named _feels_ something?" Hermione questioned her Headmaster, who nodded proudly at her. Everyone pondered this for a while, before Kinglsy read on.

**Harry gritted his teeth and tried to get away from Bella. He could handle this without her.**

**"Bella, I'm fine. Just leave me alone for now. We can continue with training after father calms down."**

"No, Harry you need help, a pain relief potion or something." Lily scolded in what Damien had deemed her 'motherly' tone.

**"Alright, Harry. Just let me know when you're ready."**

**Bella let go of him and made her way out of his chambers. She got to the door and turned around to see him still rubbing his scar. 'He's too proud for his own good' she thought.**

"Pride is a _Potter_ trait." Snape spat. Instead of looking offended, James smiled in relief, glad that his son had something in common with him. Snape frowned, upset that his insult wasn't taken the way he wanted it to be.

**"Harry, I will be right back with some pain relief potion, and I don't want to hear about you not needing it!"**

Lily sighed sadly. Everyone but Molly looked at her with confusion. As a mother, Molly Weasley knew just what was upsetting her. At seeing the confused looks, Lily elaborated, "It's not right. What she's doing for him. She's acting like his mother, I'M his mother, not her. That should be me." Nods were seen around the room as everyone understood what was wrong now.

**Harry smiled weakly at her and nodded his head slightly. He would not say no to any sort of pain relief just now. He really did like Bella; it was only when she got too motherly on him that it made him uncomfortable.**

'He _likes_ her?' The thought ran through everyone's head as they all adopted looks of disgust. They needed to get Harry away from these people, and fast.

**She had trained him the most, along with his father.**

"Trained by Voldemort eh? I'll have to see how well when we get him back." Moody muttered. Lily threw him a sharp look. Her baby would not be duelling Alastor Moody if she had anything to say about it!

**She was a good teacher and he could see that she cared for him. He wasn't sure if that was wise as his father had always taught him that feeling of love and care only weakened ones power. He couldn't really complain since he cared about Bella too. She had brought him up after all.**

Lily understood now why James flinched whenever Harry referred to Voldemort as his father. She was feeling the same way as she listened to her son's thoughts on Bellatrix, who he clearly considered his mother figure.

**He was busy thinking and didn't even hear Bella come back in the room.**

**"Here" she said as she thrust the small vial in his hand.**

**Harry took it gratefully and downed the potion in one gulp. The effect was instant but the pain in Harry's scar was only dulled a bit.**

"The pain must have been so bad," Damien said, is awe of how his brother was coping with it. He failed to notice his parents flinch at the reminder that their child was in pain, and they were powerless to do anything.

**It would only go away completely when his father has got rid of his anger, as that was what was causing Harry such intense discomfort.**

**"Why does he always decide to get immensely annoyed or angry when I'm around." asked Harry miserably.**

**"Don't be disrespectful, Harry!" snapped Bella immediately.**

**Harry managed to chuckle slightly to himself before throwing her a green eyed glare.**

**"Well excuse me for not enjoying having my head split in two!"**

"Not funny Harry," Remus said, "not funny at all." Sirius nodded, adding,

"You don't joke about things like that."

**"He doesn't do it on purpose, Harry. He would never want you to suffer, let alone on his account."**

**Harry was about to respond when a particularly nasty throb of pain caused him to clasp his hand over his forehead and let out an angry hiss of pain. Bella was instantly at Harry's side worrying about what was making her Lord so angry.**

**"That does it! I'm going to see what's getting him so worked up!" with that said Harry got to his feet, grabbed his silver mask and charged through the doors.**

**He was in front of his father's oak doors in minutes. Harry was ten years old when he had learned all the secret passages in and out of the Riddle Manor.**

"That could be useful," Kinglsy interrupted his own reading to voice his opinion. Murmurs of agreement wafted around the room. Harry's knowledge of Riddle Manor come in very handy when planning an attack on it.

**Harry had now got the mask over his face and knocked once on the door. Without waiting for a reply Harry, charged through into his father's private meeting room. Lord Voldemort was surprised too see his young heir in such a hurry but quickly realised why he was there. Instantly he began his mantra to calm down the rage that was bubbling within him.**

"Huh?" no one was sure who said it, as numerous voices were heard. Everyone was in agreement, confused as to how Voldemort could possibly care for the child he planned to kill.

**He also lifted the Crucio curse that he had placed Crabbe under. The pathetic Death Eater got slowly to his feet, his limbs still jerking violently.**

**"Master… f-forgive me…Master…it w-will n-never happen…"**

**"Silence!"**

**Voldemort hissed and motioned to Crabbe to get out of his sight. Thanking the entry of the Dark Prince, Crabbe quickly made his exit.**

**Once he was gone Harry removed his mask and looked directly at his father.**

**Lord Voldemort calmed down by just looking at Harry. He smiled and beckoned Harry to come closer. Harry took a couple of steps toward him and stopped. Harry was the only one his father didn't allow to bow down in front of him.**

**"Harry, what's the matter?" he asked.**

**Harry cocked up an eyebrow at his father's question.**

**"I just thought I would come and see what was angering you father before my head burst open!"**

**Harry said this with the most venomously sweet voice he could muster.**

McGonagall was among those who gasped in horror and worry. Her eyes drifted to the picture of little Harry, as her thoughts drifted to the scar that was mentioned. Despite evidence to the contrary, she couldn't help but be among those who worried that Harry was going through abuse at the hands of the Dark Lord.

**Lord Voldemort would have instantly killed anyone else who has dared to speak to him in such a tone. However Harry was different to everyone else. After all he was Lord Voldemort's only son.**

"He's OUR son!" Lily and James shouted in sync, furious. Dumbledore calmed them with a look, clearing his throat to speak.

"Despite what you may think, this is good news. It means that Voldemort has never harmed Harry. It means that Tom cares for someone other than himself." Lily and James remained angry at the fact that Voldemort had turned their son into his own, but calmed at the thought of Harry never being harmed while under his care.

**"That imbecile Crabbe has brought some disturbing news. It turns out that Riley had an accomplice."**

**Harry's anger and frustration completely vanished and he instantly went into his warrior mode.**

"Warrior mode? Oh that poor boy." Molly chocked out, looking at the distraught Lily and James.

**"What are your orders, father?" he asked with no emotions visible on his face.**

A sob emerged from Lily as she buried her face in her hands.

**Lord Voldemort walked over to his son and placed his pale bony hands on Harry's shoulders and stared into his eyes.**

**"Finish the rat!" he said and Harry's eyes instantly became cold and devoid of all emotion and feelings.**

James moaned in despair, the feeling mirrored by all present.

**He allowed his father to enter his mind and soon he had all that he needed to complete his assignment. Harry now had a name, an address and a face. That was all he needed.**

**Harry was about to turn away when his father tightened his grip on him and placed a long finger under his chin, lifting his head slightly so that he could peer into those emerald eyes.**

**"I am upset that you were discomforted by this Harry. You know how much I hate to pull you into my emotions."**

**Harry smiled, a little warmth spread into his green orbs.**

**"I know father, it just got a little too much this time which is why I came to see what was wrong."**

Flinching at how Harry addressed Voldemort, James frowned as he considered the Dark Lords concern.

**Voldemort watched as Harry turned around and left his chambers. He had never imagined such a link would be formed with his heir when he gave Harry that scar.**

"So he did give Harry that scar!" George shouted.

"Yes, but he doesn't mean to hurt him," Bill said, before turning with an apologetic expression as he realised who he was defending. "I mean..."

"It's okay. It is the truth, after all." James reassured with a fake smile.

**Sometimes he even felt sorry for the poor kid.**

Snorts of disbelief were heard. Voldemort caring about anyone but himself was hard to believe.

**He suffered if Lord Voldemort felt any strong emotions at all. It didn't matter if he was happy or sad. Any intense emotion brought nothing but intense pain to Harry.**

"Oh my poor baby," Lily whispered.

**Lord Voldemort had promised to keep his temper in check for Harry's sake when Harry was around. Of course when Harry was away on assignments, Lord Voldemort could get as happy or as angry as he liked without fear of hurting him. It seemed that Harry was only immensely affected when he was in close proximity to the Dark Lord. When he was far away from him Harry would still be able to tell what the Dark Lord was feeling but it was nothing more than a small dull pain which he had now been able to block out.**

'Interesting,' Albus Dumbledore thought, ideas as to why this could be running through his head. A line from the prophecy kept coming back to him. _'Neither can live, while the other survives.'_

**Lord Voldemort sat on his throne and thought silently about Hunt. He should have seen this coming. That little rat was going to pay! His Harry would see to that.**

Growls were heard as Voldemort referred to Harry as _his_. He would _never_ be his.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	5. Chapter Five: A Revelation

Despite the obvious joy that came with hearing about Harry, disgust was evident on everyone's faces. They felt disgusted by what Voldemort had done to the previously innocent boy. And now, with horror, they realised that Harry was about to kill again on his 'father's' orders. Along with these emotions, was the strong feeling of guilt that everyone felt, even Snape and the children who knew not of Harry's existence. They believed that maybe, just maybe, if they had of focused on finding Harry more, if they hadn't given up when they found a body, if they had just believed... they felt that they could have given Harry a real childhood. The only comfort that they had was the knowledge that Harry was never harmed while under Voldemort's care. A small comfort, but a comfort all the same.

Clearing his throat, Ron opened his mouth to speak. "Can I read?" He said in a small voice. Kingsley nodded, and Ron walked over and took the book from his hands. Walking back, he sat down in the middle of Damien and Fred, and began reading.

**A Revelation**

These two words produced hopeful looks. 'A Revelation', maybe Harry's identity would be discovered?

**James looked around the empty building. Why would anyone opt to live in an empty warehouse was beyond him.**

"Maybe because they're hiding from something...?" Damien looked questioningly at his dad, who sank down in his seat, embarrassed by his thoughts.

**He moved silently forward before nonverbally giving the signal to two Aurors to check the back of the building.**

**They had received information that a Death Eater was hiding out here. Exactly why this Death Eater had chosen a run down, freezing warehouse for a home was a mystery.**

Lily raised her eyebrows at James as everyone slowly turned to look at the embarrassed Auror. "Well, I know the reason _now_ , don't I?" James muttered, burying his scarlet face in his hands. Lily laughed, comforting her husband by rubbing her hand in circles on his back. He sighed, face clearing of it's previous bright red colour. He refused to look up though, as he could practically feel Sirius' mocking grin.

**James and a team of Aurors were sent to investigate and capture the Death Eater.**

**James had come with a team of four Aurors.**

"I better be one of them!" Sirius declared. Remus raised an eyebrow at him.

"When was the last time James did something dangerous, or stupid, and you weren't there?" He questioned. Sirius looked down in thought, brow furrowing as he muttered things to himself. He looked up, then down again, shaking his head in distress as he struggled to find an answer. Suddenly he shot up, looking triumphant.

"When James went on his honeymoon with Lily!" He cried, oblivious to the James frantically shaking his head at him and Lily's dangerous glare. Many shivered at the look on Lily's face, picturing it on Harry's. Remus placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder, forcing him to sit down again.

"Are you implying that I'm dangerous, Sirius?" Lily questioned in a sickly sweet voice. Sirius earnestly nodded his head.

"Terrifyingly so." Lily smiled.

"Good." Damien sat shocked, having never seen his mum look quite so terrifying before. James sighed in relief. 'Thank Merlin, Lily and Remus don't know that Sirius stayed in the suite next door to us.'

**His best friend, Sirius**

"YES!" Sirius' joy was followed by exsparated looks from his fellow Order members. As if those two would ever be separated.

**was accompanied by a fellow Order member, Kingsley Shacklebolt. The other two Aurors were not from the Order but James knew them fairly well.**

**Sirius and Kingsley stayed at James' side while the other two Aurors silently crept to the back of the building. So far there was no sign of this Death Eater.**

**James suddenly caught sight of a short, blond haired man, sitting with his back pressed up against the wall. His face was hidden behind his hands and he seemed to be shivering. Whether it was from cold of fear, James couldn't tell.**

"Harry's there..." Breathed Tonks. No one heard her except for Moody and Kingsley, who exchanged glances. This should be interesting. If Remus, Sirius and James hadn't been so distracted by the previous chapter, they may have made the connection as well.

**James, Sirius and Kingsley were just about to approach him, their wands were drawn and pointed at him before a sight stopped them and forced them to hide behind the wall.**

**The Aurors watched as a boy, dressed all in black, except for the silver mask which covered the whole of his face walked over to the Death Eater.**

"Harry, oh Merlin." Lily covered her mouth with shaky hands as tension filled the room.

"I hope none of you hurt him, my goodness, five Aurors versing one child." McGonagall's voice was shaky as she announced this to the room. Snape sneered, 'really' he thought, 'they should be worrying about the Aurors.'

**He moved swiftly but without making any noise. It was almost as if he had cast a silencing charm on himself. If James didn't see him, he would never have known that he was here.**

**The Death Eater looked up and as his blue eyes met with the boy dressed in black. He let out a stifled sound that was half a sob and half a cry.**

**"I knew you would find me." croaked the man in a voice that almost trembled.**

**"Where else would I look for a rat!" the boy whispered in a deadly voice.**

"Oh Harry." Hermione looked sad. To think that this boy would have been her friend if he wasn't kidnapped...

**James was taken aback. He could tell straight away that the boy was young. But there was something else about the kid's voice that unsettled him.**

"James!" "Dad" "Mr Potter" "Prongs" Variations of James' name were called out as he was pinned to his seat with hopeful looks. Lily grabbed his arm. "James you know, I know you do! James, somehow you must know." She pleaded, desperation prominent in her voice as she shook with excitement.

**He pushed it to the back of his mind. Now wasn't the time to think about that.**

"NO!" Moans of despair filled the room. Anxious, everyone waited for the inventible. Now that James wasn't going to help the boy, he would surely be injured before his defeat.

**He gestured to Sirius and Kingsley to move at his signal. Both Aurors signalled that they understood.**

**"I haven't done anything! It was all Riley! He was the one who was trying to blackmail the Dark Lord! I would never dream of doing something like that! I swear I wouldn't!" the man began sobbing.**

**James was certain he had never seen anything as pathetic as him.**

"I dunno," George trailed off at a sharp look from his mother, but not before glancing at Snape so everyone knew what he meant. James and Sirius sniggered, looking pleased with George.

**"If you hadn't done anything, then why did you run, Hunt? Why didn't you return to him?" the boy asked in menace.**

**"Please, Dark Prince! Please have mercy?" the man, Hunt, said looking up at the boy with a pleading expression.**

**James shared a look with Sirius, who was smirking as well. 'Dark Prince?' that was a rather unusual name.**

"Its not funny James!" Lily snapped. James looked at her, his thoughts clear on his face. He didn't think it was funny either. Lily sighed, promising to try really hard not to have a go at anyone for what they might do in the future.

**James looked back at the boy and watched as the boy didn't give in to the grown man's pleas.**

**James couldn't understand why the man was so afraid of a mere boy. He didn't even have a wand. He was standing before the Death Eater with no visible weapons in his hands.**

"Get your damn wand out boy." No one looked surprised to see Mad-Eye once again admonishing Harry. Lily couldn't help but wonder if maybe Moody would be a mentor to Harry. The thought brought a smile to her face.

**"You are going to kill me without even giving me a chance to fully explain my side of the story?" asked a truly terrified Hunt.**

**"You have no story to tell and I have wasted enough time on you already."**

**The boy said this while simultaneously bringing his wand out of his robes. His voice betrayed no emotion but James felt the anger course through the boy's words. The boy certainly hated Hunt.**

"And he doesn't even know him." Charlie looked and sounded disgusted, his words causing a great deal of hurt to Lily and James. Damien felt defensive of his brother, but before he could give Charlie a piece of his mind Molly stepped in.

"The boy doesn't know any differently! He was raised that way!" She accompanied this with a slap around the head. Charlie looked sorry, but was seething on the inside. He refused to believe that anyone would do what the Dark Prince does without being evil themselves, no matter how they were raised.

**"Why are** _**you** _ **going to kill me? What have I done to hurt** _**you** _ **?" Hunt asked.**

**"You betrayed my father therefore you betrayed me, He doesn't forget and I don't forgive."**

Lily supressed a sob. Her poor baby, evil was filling his heart. He had darkness within him, and she worried that they couldn't wipe it out.

**The boy said this and pointed his wand directly between Hunt's eyes. James quietly prepared to launch himself onto the boy. He wasn't going to let Hunt die. He was here to apprehend Hunt, not to watch him get killed. He hated Voldemort and his Death Eaters with vigour but he knew that if this Death Eater was on the run from Voldemort, then he could be very useful. He would probably give information willingly to them, information that could be very useful to get to Voldemort.**

Moody nodded at this, pleased that James was thinking about the advantages that this Hunt fellow could bring to the light side.

**Through his fear, Hunt managed to scoff at the boy's words.**

**"Yes, well, I never thought Lord Voldemort and his son would be the kind to forgive and forget!"**

**At these words James froze. What did he just say? This boy was Voldemort's son?**

"No." James said quietly, yet everyone could hear him. "No, he's my son."

**James looked around at the equally shocked looking Sirius and Kingsley. They both had gone rather pale. Voldemort had a son? The revelation made cold shivers run down their spines.**

**James turned around to look at the boy and suddenly saw him in a different light altogether. All of a sudden the young boy looked a lot more dangerous than before.**

Laughter rang around the room. Sure, Harry had killed people, skilled people, but he couldn't be _dangerous_ , could he?

**"If you're done talking nonsense, Hunt, take your last breath!" the boy said with cruelty as he took aim.**

**James had to stop him, now was as good a time as any. James and the other two Aurors rushed to rescue Hunt.**

**James and the other two Aurors, Kingsley and Sirius, dove at the boy at the same time. Three sets of red lights sped there way toward the young boy, as the three Aurors yelled 'Stupefy', but the boy turned around and brought up a shield that just deflected the spells. He didn't even look surprised at the attack but rather like he was expecting it all long.**

"What?" James gaped, seeing similar expressions on everyone around the room.

**Before James and Sirius could even reach him the boy spun around and delivered a fantastic kick, straight into Kingsley's chest, as he was the first one to get near him. James gasped as the impact sent Kingsley flying in the other direction.**

Damien couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. He looked at Kingsley frantically, an apology on the tip of his tongue, but stopped when he saw Kingsley's expression. He, and everyone else, had a look of awe on his face, looking at the book with rapt attention. It was unbelievable, but it looked like Harry had a chance to win here.

"If this boy can beat some of our best Aurors," Moody grunted, "Then we may have a chance against Voldemort after all, with him on our side." Lily didn't even bother to tell him that her son wouldn't be fighting, as it was obvious that he would be.

**He quickly recovered from the shock and fired a spell at the boy.**

**"STUPEFY" he yelled but the boy just side stepped it as if it was the easiest thing in the world. James was utterly shocked. The boy was a wonder. He was facing three fully grown Aurors and had not even broken out in a sweat yet.**

"That's my brother!" Damien yelled in excitement. 'He's a badass!' He thought, pleased by how cool his older brother was.

**"INCENDIO" the boy yelled aiming straight for an oncoming Sirius. James watched in horror as the hem of Sirius' robes caught fire.**

**"Sirius!" he yelled but Sirius had calmly put out the fire with a flick of his wand.**

Sirius gave James a look as if to say, 'I'm a wizard, you idiot.' James smiled back sheepishly.

**The other two Aurors that James had sent to the other side of the warehouse made their move. They rushed towards the boy, shouting out curses. The Dark Prince blocked the oncoming curses with relative ease and moved to face Sirius and the two other Aurors while James moved toward Hunt who was rooted to the spot in fear and confusion.**

"MOVE IDIOT!" Damien yelled, not wanting to hear about his brother killing Hunt.

"Damien!" Lily snapped, appalled. She gave him a sharp look, causing him to shrink back in his seat.

"Maybe whisper any swear words, huh mate?" Ron whispered in Damien's ear.

**"STUPEFY, PERTIFICUS TOTALUS" the boy yelled at the two Aurors, one fell immediately.**

Bill whistled, impressed. Charlie glowered at his brother. 'Can't they see how dangerous he is?' He thought. 'I won't be fooled by him.'

**The other one had time to draw up a shield but was knocked to the ground when the boy delivered another kick this time in his stomach and, using the side of his hand, he smashed the Auror to the ground by hitting him in the back of the neck.**

"Strange, that is." Commented Remus.

"What is?" Lily fretted, thinking something was wrong with Harry.

"That the so called 'son' of Voldemort knows, and excels, at muggle fighting." Dumbledore pondered what Remus said before smiling.

"I know that Tom would never encourage Harry to learn from muggles, which can only mean one thing." He looked at James and Lily's hopeful faces. "Harry isn't totally obedient. He appears to be a…Rebel." Thrilled by this news, the room's occupants grinned. Harry disobeying Voldemort was a joyous occasion.

**Now it was only Sirius and Kingsley left facing the teenager while James moved quickly towards Hunt. James grabbed a hold of the Death Eater who seemed too afraid to move.**

"Good, good. Get him out of there. Don't let our son kill him." Nobody commented on the desperation in Lily's voice, as they all felt the same way.

**"If you want to live, I suggest you come with me!" James said to him.**

**Hunt's eyes moved over to see the fight happening between the Dark Prince and the Aurors. He numbly turned to face James.**

"Idiot." Damien muttered with glance towards his mother to make sure she didn't hear him. To his relief, she was focused on the book. Ron grinned down at him, proud that Damien had listened to his earlier advice.

**"We want to arrest you. He wants to kill you. Choose!" James said icily.**

"Nice one, James." Sirius guffawed. Severus winced, that statement brining back bad memories of his time at Hogwarts.

**That seemed to snap him out of his fear induced daze and he quickly got to his feet.**

"Finally doing something useful!" Damien exclaimed. James grinned at him, while Lily looked disapproving. Damien chose to focus on his father's pride rather than his mother's scorn.

**James grabbed a hold of him from the collar of his robes and ran across to the exit. He knew that the warehouse had anti-apparation wards as he had tested that before entering the building. Hunt was probably trying to protect himself.**

"Nicely done Potter, always remain vigilant to your surroundings." Moody grumbled. James shot a smug look at Sirius, who sneered playfully back. They had a running competition of who could get the most praise from Alastor, and that comment pushed James to the lead.

**James had almost made it to the door when he heard a spell he was not familiar with and then a terrible pain filled scream. He turned around to see Kingsley on the ground supporting what looked like a broken arm and leg.**

"Adflicto Corpis." Arthur murmured in remembrance. "You have to focus on causing pain." As soon as the words left his mouth he realised how they must make Harry's family feel, and looked at them all guiltily. They wore grim faces, grudgingly accepting that it would be difficult to change Harry's mindset from his current one of causing pain to one of helping those in need, but they were determined to succeed.

**Sirius was physically fighting with the boy now. Sirius was a fair bit taller than the boy and for a moment had easily held onto him.**

"Alright!" Sirius rubbed his hands together, leaning forward eagerly. "I got this." He was overjoyed at the prospect of being the one to capture Harry and bring him home.

James smiled happily, relieved that it was Sirius grappling with Harry, and not someone else. 'Sirius won't hurt him.' He thought, grinning at his best mate.

**He had grabbed a hold of his wand arm and with his other hand he had grabbed him around the neck. Sirius then twisted him around so that he was holding the boy in front of him almost like a shield. He wrapped his arm around the boy's neck as if attempting to suffocate him.**

"Don't hurt him!" Lily cried, momentarily forgetting that they were reading about future events. Sirius caught her gaze, before giving the book a pointed look and raising an eyebrow. Lily sank back in her seat, embarrassed, giving Sirius a sheepish apologetic smile. Sirius rolled his eyes, accepting her unspoken apology.

**The boy wasn't even struggling much with Sirius.**

"But… doesn't he want to escape? I mean, he doesn't know Sirius, he thinks he's the enemy…" Ginny's timid voice shook with nerves. She was thrown by the fact that Harry wore a silver mask like her saviour, but didn't want to mention it in case she gave the Potter's false hope. No one commentated on her statement, but dread filled the room. Harry should be struggling. James had a horrible feeling that Sirius was going to be hurt by his son.

**As James watched in awe the boy threw back his head and it smashed into Sirius' face.**

"In _awe_?" Sirius turned to James with a betrayed look on his face. "In _awe_? That's my face James!"

"Sorry." James deadpanned. "I'm so sorry that your beloved face, your pride and joy, may be marred by my wayward son in the future. Please, forgive me for ever procreating." Sirius nodded seriously.

"Apology accepted." They stared at each other in silence for a moment before bursting into laughter. The underage students joined in, Tonks giving a snort that gave way to laughter as she too joined in on the fun. The tension in the room was momentarily relieved, before Ron managed to pick himself up from the floor he was rolling on, and cleared his throat to read. Tension filled silence followed.

**The back of the boy's head has slammed hard in Sirius' face and had caused Sirius to let go of him. The boy swung around and smashed his fist into the side of his head. Sirius staggered to the side but tried to fight back.**

Sirius rubbed his face, a mournful look on his face. He turned to Damien. "Remind me to never approach your brother unless his hands are otherwise occupied." Damien grinned and nodded his head.

**He sent a stinging hex at the boy but he had his shield brought up so fast that Sirius took a step back in puzzlement.**

"Damn!" Fred and George called. "Harry is badass!" They received a slap on the head from their mother for swearing, but they couldn't care less. Harry had their respect.

**The boy then fired a hex at Sirius which he only just managed to dodge.**

"Damn." Sirius whispered, worried for what Harry might do to him.

**James has seen enough. He had to get Hunt out of here. If he didn't leave now Hunt could lose his life.**

"Run, run, run." Damien and Ginny chanted under their breath.

**James grabbed the shivering fool and headed out the door as fast as his legs could carry him. He only got a few paces away from the old factory when he heard the doors fly open behind him.**

"Oh man"

**He kept on running with Hunt, it was only a few more minutes, and then he would be outside the wards and he could apparate back with Hunt safe and sound. James hated Hunt but could not allow anything to happen to him while he was on duty. If he got Hunt back to the Ministry, they could possibly get important information out of him.**

**However James was just within the bounds of the ward when he felt a spell zoom past him and hit Hunt in the back.**

"Oh crap"

**Hunt fell heavily to the ground. James froze and turned to look at Hunt. He was still breathing. James saw the boy approach almost calmly and instantly James stood over Hunt blocking him from any spells.**

"Oh shi-"

"Sirius enough!"

"Yes Lilyflower."

**The boy stopped a few steps away from James. At a first glance, he looked completely at ease, but as James looked closely, he could see that there was something wrong. The boy was holding his wand loosely in his hand but the rest of his body seemed to be held tense. He gave James a cold glare.**

**"Out of the way, Potter! This doesn't concern you!"**

"Does, does he, does he know who we are?" Lily's voice trembled.

"No, he can't." Remus rushed to reassure her. "Voldemort probably told him that James was a skilled Auror, nothing more. Harry can't know that you're his real parents, if he did, he wouldn't still be living with them."

"Don't be so sure." Sneered Snape.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Snapped Sirius. "Harry doesn't know he's related to James and Lily, he doesn't!" Snape merely sneered, choosing not to voice his thoughts.

**Again James felt a rush of unease sweep over him. There was something about him that was making the hairs on the back of his neck stand.**

"Fathers instinct." Arthur smiled at James. "I have it too. Very useful when you need to know if they're lying or not." The twins shifted nervously, glancing at their father warily.

**James stood defiantly, protecting Hunt, with his wand pointing straight at the boy's heart.**

**"I think it does since you took down my entire team in there!"**

**Before James could do anything, the boy had sent him flying across the grounds. James landed with a painful thud on the hard concrete ground and was momentarily unable to move.**

"Ouch." Tonks winced in sympathy.

**James struggled to get up but managed to get to his feet quickly and spun around to see the Dark Prince bring his wand down on Hunt who was still on the ground and was now pleading for his life.**

"No, Harry don't! James STOP HIM!" Lily shrieked, desperate.

**"No…no…please…my lord…have mercy!" he stuttered while trying to crawl away.**

**The boy took aim and quietly uttered the cursed words.**

**"Avada Kedavra"**

"No." Lily moaned, collapsing into James arms, tears streaming down both their faces. Hermione hugged Damien, who sat in shock. Silence filled the room, horror on everyone's faces. Many glanced at the photo of little Harry, if only to remind themselves of a time when he was innocent as they watched his giggle and point at them.

Disgust was the next emotion felt. Disgust at how Voldemort had twisted a once pure heart and filled it with darkness. Anger came next, as silent vows were made to get justice, and bring Harry home.

"We can stop this. We can." Molly tried to reassure not only Lily, James and Damien, but also herself.

"We may be able to stop this one, but what about all the others? He killed Riley just last… last night. And, and there are countless others before Riley. Har-Harry killed them." James chocked out, looking down at the floor as sadness filled him. Lily sobbed harder in his arms.

"We may not be able to take back what Harry has done." Sirius began in a quiet voice. "But we can bring him home, and stop him from doing it again. We can change the way he views us, tell him the truth. You can, and will, have your son back." He finished with conviction. James and Lily looked up to see many reassuring nods around the room. They gave watery smiles at the support they were receiving. Determination filled them, they were going to bring their son home, and no one could stop them. Ron allowed the Potters a moment to gather themselves, and as soon as Damien had removed his face from Hermione's shoulder and wiped his tears away, he began reading again.

**James gasped as he saw the green light leave the boy's wand and hit Hunt squarely in the chest. Hunt collapsed on the ground and even at this distance there was no mistaking the fact that Hunt was dead. Anger coursed through James as he saw the boy walk away from the body as if nothing had happened. Within seconds James was blocking the boy's path, wand pointed at him.**

"Don't hurt him. Bring him back, but don't hurt our baby." Lily whispered. James gave a reassuring smile, hesitant to remind her that it was in the future while she was in her current state.

**James stepped closer to the boy. It was so difficult to make out anything about the boy with that awful mask. The only thing he could see was his eyes. But even that was difficult to make out since it was now dark and James vision was still blurry at hitting his head so hard on the ground.**

"Mate you need to take it easy." Sirius warned. James felt no such hesitation with him, turning and punching him lightly on the arm.

"It's in the future, idiot." Laughter followed his comment, and Sirius gave him a wry smile. James realised that Sirius only made that comment in order to get that comment out of him and break the tension in the room. He gave his best mate a grateful smile, and received a smirk and nod in return.

**"Out of my way, Potter, I really don't have time to deal with you today."**

**"Really! Well let's make an appointment shall we? How's Friday afternoon for ya?" James mocked feeling his temper rise.**

"That's real mature dad." Damien scoffed.

**This kid was really something. He had single-handedly wiped out five Aurors and killed one person, and he had not one single scratch on him.**

"I guess we really underestimated him. To think we thought the Aurors would win." Kingsley shook his head in shame.

**James still couldn't believe the force that had thrown him across the grounds had come from him. It was if a hammer had been used to punch him across the grounds.**

"Woah." Damien felt conflicted. He was proud of his brother, and yet worried about his dad. He wondered how he would feel in the future when Harry was with them, and the inventible argument between Harry and his dad occurred. 'Wonder who I'll side with?' he thought.

**"Move Potter!"**

**"Make me you little shit!"**

Lily threw him a sharp look but refrained from commenting, knowing that James would never call Harry that if he knew who it was under the mask.

**This seemed to light something in the boy's eyes. He pocketed his wand and took another step towards him. James was completely confused. 'Why did he pocket his wand, what was he playing at?' In his moment of confusion the boy made his move.**

Sharp intakes of breath resonated throughout the room.

**"As you wish."**

**As he said this emerald eyes locked with hazel ones. With a movement with his hand James was thrown violently into the air and he landed painfully on his back. James gritted his teeth as pain exploded in his back.**

"That's gonna be annoying. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud, but I'm not looking forward to being thrown wandlessly and non-verbally around." James shook his head, but his eyes sparkled with pride at his sons achievements.

**He ignored this and quickly got up and saw the boy move towards the edge of the anti-apparation wards. James pointed his wand at him. He couldn't let him get away.**

**"STUPEFY" James yelled but the boy had easily moved out of the way.**

Groans of disappointment filled the room.

**James took aim once more but something came flying towards him and struck his wand holding arm. James gasped in pain as his wand went clattering to the ground. He blinked in surprise at the sight of his blood, as it ran down from the ghastly cut on his forearm and trickled down to his hand. Something had sliced his arm open. He knew it wasn't a spell as he had actually felt something sharp cut his arm open.**

"What the fu-"

"Sirius!"

"Sorry Molly."

**James quickly picked his wand up from the ground and focused on the boy. He could figure out what had happened later, right now he had to capture the Dark Prince.**

**He painfully took aim and fired at him.**

**"SORUPTO" he hissed and a jet of yellow light left his wand and cut the boy on his arm. James watched as the boy gasped at the pain the cutting hex had caused.**

Lily gasped, feeling hurt at hearing about Harry in pain.

**James had his wand pointed at the boy's heart.**

**Before James could fire another curse at him he felt his words choke in his throat. James dropped his wand and grabbed at his neck as a searing pain had made his vision turn white momentarily.**

"No."

**James could feel his warm blood run through his fingers and down his robes. The entire left side of his neck throbbed in agony. James' breath hitched in his chest as he struggled to breathe.**

"No dad-"

"James, oh Merlin-"

"Shit Prongs."

**He fell to his knees and had both hands clutched around his neck, in an effort to stop the blood flow. Everything around him seemed to slow down as he fell to his front. He forced his eyes to stay open and tried to cry out for help, to call to Sirius but nothing came out. His eyes caught sight of a small metal object lying in the grass before him. It was something he had never seen before.**

**It was small and made of metal with four razor sharp points. It looked like a hand held blade. It was stained with blood. His blood.**

**James realised that this was what the Dark Prince had used to attack him. His arm and neck was sliced open using these blades. He had not even seen the boy throw them. He had seen the boy reach inside his robes but the rest had been a blur.**

**James could hear shouts in the distance, but he couldn't make sense of what was being said. His world was engulfed in darkness and then he knew no more.**

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

"DAD!"

"Oh no."

"James-"

"Prongs you better not-"

"James please, please don't' be-"

"Dad, please don't… don't leave us."

"You promised! You promised you would never leave me! YOU PROMISED!" Lily's shout silenced the room. "You promised." She sobbed. Damien sprinted across the room and jumped into his father's lap in a rare display of affection. He buried his face in James' neck and cried. James struggled to reassure them both, dealing with his own shock at the thought of his eldest son possible killing him. Dumbledore decided to bring reassurance to the distraught family.

"Please remember, this is the future. Events we read about can be changed, the future is never set in stone." He smiled as the rooms occupants gazed at him with hope. "Besides, it is as of yet unclear if Harry succeeded in killing James."

"But he did try to kill me." James despaired.

"He… he doesn't know you mate. He doesn't know you're his father." Sirius attempted to reassure him.

"I don't think he tried to kill you." Dumbledore once again captured the attention of many.

"He aimed at his throat Albus! If Mr Potter survives this then it is only due to Harry's misjudged aim. It's a miracle he only hit the side of his neck! That miracle may be the only thing that saves him!" McGonagall voiced.

"Did he miss?" Dumbledore's gaze turned intent. "Harry has impeccable aim, he hasn't missed yet. So, did he miss, or was he aiming at the side of James' neck?" James and Lily looked relieved that Harry hadn't meant to kill James, but Charlie remained quietly sceptical. Damien just hoped that his dad didn't die.

"Now." Dumbledore looked up. "Who wants to read next?"


	6. Chapter Six: Hogwarts

"I'll read." No one protested as Remus stepped forward to take the book from Ron as they were all desperate to discover James' fate. While one among them wished many malicious things had happened to Potter (no guesses as to who) the rest were, well, restless to get on with the story, and hoped that the Auror was safe. Remus cleared his throat, before beginning to read in his naturally calm voice.

**"Hogwarts"**

"But I wanna find out what happened to dad!" Damien protested. Lily nodded in agreement.

"Perhaps this chapter will give us some clue Damy. Besides, I believe that Harry didn't kill me, don't you?" James asked.

"Well yeah…" if anyone picked up on the uncertainty in Damien's voice they didn't comment, for they themselves found themselves lacking the same faith James had in his son.

**"This is just so unfair!" whined Damien.**

"I don't _whine_!" Whined Damien. He received a very pointed look followed by an arched brow from Hermione, and flushed a deep red.

**He was sitting in the Great Hall for his breakfast and was in an unusually foul mood. Ron Weasley and his fellow Gryffindors were all at the table and were sympathizing with the anguished teen.**

"Anguished teen? That's a bit melodramatic." Commented Fred.

"Yeah, one would think you were in severe pain." George added.

"Like maybe-"

"If perhaps-"

"A very-"

"Incredibly-"

"Quidditch game-"

"That future you seems-"

"To be looking forward to-"

"Happened to be, I don't know-"

"Cancelled?" they finished together. "You know, because your dad is most likely in the hospital, and can't manage to drag himself out of bed to take you." Fred clarified. Laughter was heard and disapproving looks thrown, but the twins didn't care. They had successfully broken the tense atmosphere.

**"I know it sucks man, but what can you do?" Ron said this while shovelling half a dozen pancakes onto his plate and smearing then with golden honey syrup.**

"Honestly Ronald." Ron smiled sheepishly at Hermione as she shook her head at him.

**"This was supposed to be the best game ever! I've been waiting weeks to go to it and now he just decides not to show up. I mean, not even an owl to say he had to cancel."**

"WOAH." Damien turned to the twins. "How… how did you know that?"

"Guessed." They shrugged to disbelieving looks.

**"Still whining about it Damien? I mean honestly it's only a game. Your father has other things to attend to you know."**

"Like the many attractive nurses at St. Mungo's."

"Sirius!"

"Just because Prongs is married to you doesn't mean I am."

"Well…"

"Shut up James."

"Yes dear."

**Hermione Granger joined the table with Ginny Weasley and sat down to glare at Damien Potter.**

**"What would you know about Quidditch, Hermione? After all, it's not something you can learn out of a book!" Damien spat at her.**

"Damien!"

"Future mum, remember?"

"I hope you don't always treat your friends like that."

"I swear I don't mum." Damien reassured. "Right guys?" His friends nodded.

"He's probably just stressed about something Professor Potter." Hermione assured Lily.

**He was usually not this rude to anyone but Hermione was always annoying him about something or another, just because she was the new fifth year prefect.**

Hermione looked at her badge proudly, and Ron rolled his eyes.

**"Oh come now Damy, I am sure your dad had something important come up. After all, he's not one to miss such a big game either." said Ginny comfortingly.**

"Damn right I'm not!"

**'That's actually a good point' thought Damien. Why would his dad miss such a game? He was about the biggest fan of Quidditch ever, so much so that he was the Hogwarts best chaser for Gryffindor in his school days. The trophy was still in the trophy room on the third corridor.**

James' smug look was wiped off his face when Lily turned to him and raised an eyebrow. "Whipped." Sirius whispered to Remus, who sniggered before resuming his reading.

**"He could have sent an owl." mumbled Damien but was now beginning to get worried about his dad. He had only run into him once since he had got back from his Auror duties. He had looked pretty tired and run down but his dad was never one to complain. Damien hoped that he was okay and just 'forgot' about the game and was still sleeping in.**

"I'm sorry Damy." James said quietly. As Damien opened his mouth to say that there was nothing to be sorry for, James raised a hand to silence him. "No, honestly Damien. You shouldn't have to worry about me, worry about my safety! That's not something an eleven year old should have to do!"

"Well, technically, twelve year old me is thinking these thoughts…" Damien said weakly. "Besides, I worry because I love you dad, and that's not going to change."

"Awwww." Sirius batted his eyelashes, effectively ruining a family moment. "Pup, you're so cute!"

"Shut up Uncle Siri!"

**He looked over at his friends to take his mind away from disturbing thoughts.**

**"So what are you guys up to today?" He asked since it was Saturday and the students could do whatever they pleased.**

**"Probably go see Hagrid and then go to Quidditch practise." replied Ron with just about the same enthusiasm that Damien felt right now.**

"Cheer up you old sods*!" The twins shouted.

"Language!"

**Ron and Damien were quite good friends even though they had a three year age gap. Ron had five older brothers but he fancied having a younger brother rather than a sister.**

"Oh really." Ginny looked dangerous, causing her brother to shrink away from her.

"You know I love you Gin!"

"Hmmm."

**Even though he dotted on Ginny,**

"Better." Ginny smiled sweetly.

**he always said that a younger brother would have been cool. Damien, being the only child,**

"Not anymore" Damien said happily.

**was hungry for any sibling relationship. The Weasleys treated Damien like family.**

**"Sounds cool, think I'll join you." replied Damien, if he couldn't watch the match today he would play in one himself.**

"That's the spirit Pup!"

**"What about you Ginny, fancy a game?" he asked the red headed girl, as she was bent over the table whispering urgently with Hermione.**

**"What! I…oh…no…no thanks Damy. I have stuff to do in the library." she replied turning a little red as a blush crept to her cheeks.**

"Oh no." Ginny groaned. "Not this!"

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Molly asked concerned. Ginny looked up and saw he whole room staring at her intently.

"Well, you all know about Hogsmeade.." Everyone nodded. "Well, as you know, I was rescued by someone, and, well, I've kinda been trying to find out who…"

"She's bloody obsessed mum!" Cried Ron, wearing an amused expression at Ginny's embarrassment. Ginny glared at him.

"Ginny, you have to understand, you may never find this boy and-"

"But I already have mum!" Ginny snapped.

"Whatever do you mean Miss Weasley?" McGonagall asked.

"Well, these books, they've, they've given me a clue." Ginny stammered. "Well, the guy who rescued me was wearing a mask, a silver mask just like-"

"Harry's" Lily finished. "You think it was Harry."

"Well it would certainly explain why his eyes seemed familiar, Professor. After all, I have you for Potions all the time."

"Interesting…." Dumbledore murmured. "It would seem our Harry has a saving people thing."

"Albus, while Miss Weasley's saviour may be Harry, one girl doesn't mean he has a hero complex!" McGonagall protested. "Let's be realistic, he may have just found her attractive!" Ginny flinched, distraught that her saviour only saved her for her looks.

"Indeed Minevra. However, we don't know if Miss Weasley was the only person Harry has saved, do we." With a twinkle in his eye, Dumbledore nodded to Remus to start reading again.

**Damien shared a look with Ron and both boys sighed and rolled their eyes.**

**"Ginny, girl give it up, you are not going to find him." Ron tried to tell the stubborn girl.**

"Well I did, so ha!" Ginny looked smug.

**"Whatever Ronald! Just mind your own business." She snapped at him.**

**Ron sighed and turned to Damien. Both boys had their fun at ridiculing and teasing the girl senseless for the last two months, but now they were starting to feel sorry for the clueless girl.**

"Hey! Ginny cried outraged, at the same time as a furious Molly turned on Ron, and an angry Lily turned to Damien.

"Ronald Weasley!"

"Damien Potter!"

"I am absolutely DISGUSTED!"

"You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"She's your sister!"

"She's your friend!"

"You are supposed to support-"

"Show her you support her-"

"Disgraceful behaviour-"

"-Ashamed of yourself-"

"APOLOGISE!" The furious redheads finished with a yell. Damien and Ron shrunk away, before turning to an amused looking Ginny.

"Sorry Gin."

"Yeah we really are. We should have supported you. Sorry."

"Ah its alright, Hermione always supported me." At this Molly and Lily looked even madder, outraged that their sons didn't show Ginny the same support Hermione did. However, sensing another outburst Remus quickly began reading again, to the gratitude of the boys he had just saved.

**Just over two months ago Ginny had had a near death experience.**

Molly whimpered as she remembered the day she nearly lost her only daughter. Lily gave her a reassuring smile, knowing what it was like to lose a child. Lily was immensely relieved that Ginny didn't die that day, thankful that her friend wouldn't have to go through what she did.

**It was when she had gone to Hogsmeade on her school trip. Her family were also visiting Hogsmeade and were all meeting up for lunch. Suddenly while they were in the Three Broomsticks having drinks, there was frantic shouting and commotion outside. It turned out the several Death Eaters had come and were terrorizing the people of Hogsmeade looking for someone. Ginny was told by her family and teachers to get back to Hogwarts along with all the other students. Her two eldest brothers along with her father had run outside to fight off the Death Eaters.**

**Ginny was doing just as she was told but was cornered just as five Death Eaters had burst into the pub and began terrorizing their way through the students and adults. Ginny did the most sensible thing she could, she ran along with Hermione and some other kids to the back of the pub and out into an alleyway. They ran hand in hand,**

"Smart, keep together." Moody grumbled. Hermione looked proud as holding hands had been her idea.

**no idea where they were heading as long as it was as far away from the Death Eaters. Unluckily they ran straight into a group of four Death Eaters. They had grinned wickedly and decided that the two girls were perfect for having a little _fun_.**

Cries of outrage were heard throughout the room, everyone furious at the thought of the filthy Death Eaters harming the underage witches.

**Ginny and Hermione ended up running into an old building and began climbing the stairs to hide from the horrid men.**

"No, no, no. You're going to get yourselves corned." Molly worried, forgetting that her daughter was safe, sitting on the couch opposite her surrounded by her friends.

**Unfortunately they had been followed by these men and the two girls were forced to run to the top of this old abanded building. It had something like twenty floors and the poor girls were completely exhausted when they reached the top. They quickly realised that they were trapped on the roof of this tall building by the Death Eaters. They had laughed and ridiculed the girls.**

"Oh sweethearts." Molly was crying now, hating how her daughter and her friend were being treated. She knew they must be terrified.

**Both were near tears and didn't know how they could survive. Both had their wands and had taken them out in a feeble attempt to protect themselves. Even Hermione, being in fifth year at Hogwarts, didn't know any defensive spells that could protect her or the younger girl.**

"Well that has to change." James said, to nods from all the other Aurors.

"Perhaps the next Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher should be an Auror." Dumbledore mused to McGonagall, who nodded her approval at the idea.

**Just as both girls were losing any hopes of survival, the doors burst open and Charlie Weasley followed by three other young boys came to the rescue, and started duelling the Death Eaters. It was then that Ginny was almost hit by a spell that had gone off track. Ginny had managed to dodge the spell, thanks to her training in Quidditch, but lost her balance and since she was backed up against the edge of the roof she went toppling over it.**

Ginny flinched, remembering how scared she had felt.

**She had just managed, by a streak of luck, to hold on to a dangling wire from the edge of the roof. She clung on for dear life but could tell that the wire was not strong enough to hold her weight. Charlie had appeared over the edge and was just leaning over to grab her when two things happened at once.**

"God Ginny, I'm so sorry." Charlie apologised. "You, you could've died."

"But I didn't. Harry saved me." Ginny said happily, missing Charlies growl of anger at the reminder that the _Dark Prince_ had saved his little sister.

**Charlie was grabbed from behind by a Death Eater and the wire that was saving Ginny's life snapped. Ginny went plummeting down twenty floors. She screamed and closed her eyes, not wanting to see the ground and her death rushing up to meet her. But before she hit the ground she was suddenly grabbed by a pair of strong hands. She felt her head slam against a strong chest and she instinctively threw her arms around the person and clung on for dear life.**

"Is that-" Lily began.

**She could feel the rushing air in her face and knew that they were flying. She forced her brown eyes open and looked at the person that had saved her from a truly horrible death. Emerald eyes met hers and she felt instantly drawn into them.**

"Harry." Lily breathed. Joy overcame everyone in the room (Minus Charlie and Snape) at the confirmation that it was indeed Harry who saved Ginny.

**She blinked the tears away from her eyes, not sure if it was the air or her near death that had brought them out. Her mysterious saviour had his face covered in a sliver mask and other than his eyes, nothing was visible. She realised that they were flying on a broom and that the speed that they were going at was phenomenal.**

"So he's a good flier too?" James grinned.

"Must have his father's talent, heh Prongs?" Sirius nudged the happy James, whose smile grew wider. He was so happy, Harry had his looks and skill.

"Wonder if he has anything else in common with me?" James wondered.

"I hope he hasn't go your ego." Lily muttered.

"And we all hope he didn't get your temper Lils." Sirius cheekily said. Lily threw him a furious look.

**She couldn't open her mouth to speak. There was too much air rushing at her. She moved her face away from the direction of the wind and instead buried her face into this mysterious guy's chest. She felt oddly comforted by this person. He has one strong arm around her waist and one on the broom, flying exceptionally well.**

"Someone's got a crush." Damien teased Ginny, her blush confirming his words. Molly looked disapproving, until she glanced at the photo of Harry. She grudgingly accepted that she would be happy to have her daughter date the boy. Charlie, however, was furious that his sister would even consider liking a killer.

**Ginny only became aware of her surroundings when she felt her feet hit the solid ground and she was shakily taken off the broom and placed gently on the ground. She looked up and realised she was sitting just outside the gates of Hogwarts. She could see some teachers, in the distance, hastily make their way towards her. She looked up at her saviour again. He had mounted off his broom and was leaning over her as if to make sure she was okay. Ginny became aware that she was trembling and silently thanked the fact that she was sitting down otherwise she would have collapsed onto the ground.**

**"You okay?"**

**Ginny gasped slightly, the voice sounded so young. She had thought this person was a lot older, with the whole saving her thing and flying like a professional Quidditch player. His voice was gentle but also strong at the same time. 'He can't be more than a year or two older than me' Ginny thought. Before she could reply the boy looked up and saw the Hogwarts teachers running toward them. Without another word he mounted his broom and kicked off the ground.**

"Oh Harry." No one knew if Lily was proud or sad that her son flew away after rescuing Ginny. Maybe it was a bit of both.

**"Wait!" cried Ginny but it was too late. The boy with the brilliant emerald eyes was gone. Ginny wasn't even aware when Professor McGonagall and Professor June reached her and led her back up to the castle.**

**Since then Ginny had become obsessed with her saviour. She had spent hours just talking to Hermione, and anyone else that would listen to her, about him, about how beautiful his eyes were, how strong his arms were, how softly spoken he was.**

"Sorry. I guess I was a little obsessed." A very embarrassed Ginny blushed.

"Don't be sorry. It's adorable. Oh I hope Harry likes you back." Lily squealed, to an excited nod from Molly.

**Hermione had felt so sorry for her. She could see how infatuated Ginny had become with this mysterious boy, and why shouldn't she? After all, he had saved her life. She decided that she would help her in any way that she could to try and find out the identity of this 'green-eyed wonder'.**

"Thanks 'Mione." Ginny smiled at the girl, who smiled back.

**Ginny was convinced that the boy must have come to Hogwarts at some point since he was only a little older than her and must have had an education.**

Lily gasped. "Harry's never been to Hogwarts." She looked down sadly, and James squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"He will. Once he's back, he can go to Hogwarts. I'm sure he'll want to. He can make friends, I'm sure that he doesn't have any, after all he was living with _him_." Lily smiled at her husband, pleased at the thought of her son going to Hogwarts.

"Can you imagine Malfoys face when we become friends with the most powerful kid in school? He'll be so jealous!" Ron exclaimed, to Damien, Hermione, Fred, George and Ginny's excited smiles. Their parents smiled at how happy their children were, and James and Lily were pleased that Harry would be friends with some nice Gryffindor friends. They would accept any friendships Harry had, but they were pleased that he had the chance to be close to kids they approved of.

**Also she was convinced that she had seen those green eyes before, maybe he was an older student she had seen in the corridors or someone who had gone to school in the days of Bill or Charlie and had come over to the Burrow once. She was becoming more and more desperate in her search to find him, and was spending every available moment going through the old yearbooks in the library looking for him. Hermione had tried to point out the fact that Ginny had not seen his face and therefore wouldn't be able to recognise his photo, but Ginny had dismissed this by simply saying that she would 'recognise those emerald eyes anywhere'.**

"Except on my face." Lily commented to a very embarrassed Ginny.

**Ron had not been at Hogsmeade that day, since he had taken a bludger to the head the previous day, and was recovering in the hospital wing. Therefore he had not seen the severity of the situation and had relentlessly teased Ginny about her 'mystery bloke'.**

"Sorry Gin." Ron apologised again, catching the glare his mother sent his way.

**'Maybe he's just really ugly which is why he was wearing that mask.'**

"My son isn't ugly!" James cried.

**he would say to her causing Ginny to dive for her wand and hex him into the next century.**

Fred and George laughed, proud of their sister.

**However now, two months later Ginny was still as determined as ever to find him, and Ron was beginning to feel sorry for his sister.**

"Don't feel sorry for me Ronald." Ginny hissed. She hated it when people felt pity for her. Growing up in such a large family had taught her to be just as tough as her brothers, and she never accepted pity from anyone.

**"Come on Gin, Look at the day outside, it's perfect for a game, you can continue your pointless search later on." he said, obviously thinking that this was the right way to convince her.**

"It's not." Ginny snapped.

**Ginny fixed him with a death glare before motioning to Hermione that they better get going. Before they had left the hall though, a very puffy eyed and worried looking Lily Potter had entered the hall looking frantically over to the Gryffindor table.**

"Oh no. James-"Lily's hand trembled as she reached for her husband. In all the excitement that came with Harry saving Ginny, she, and everyone else, had forgotten the danger James was in.

**She spotted Damien immediately and rushed over to him, nearly knocking the two girls to the floor in the process.**

**"Oh…Sorry girls…Sorry!" she mumbled as she continued to rush over to her son.**

**"Damien!...I need to speak to you…come with me!" she spoke quickly to him, completely ignoring the rest of the Gryffindor's that were eyeing her suspiciously.**

**"Good morning to you too mum." Damien replied cheekily but stopped as he took in his mothers very worried face and tearstained cheeks.**

**"Mum!...What…What happened!" he asked as he rose out of his chair.**

**"Professor Potter, is everything okay?" asked Ron who was also now standing up and looking at his friends mum with a bewildered expression on his face.**

**Lily, however either didn't hear him or completely ignored him.**

**"Damien, come with me now!" and with that she gripped Damien's arm and led him out of the hall. Once they were in the main hall she stood with Damien facing her and quickly pulled out a small colourful ball.**

**"Portus" she whispered and told Damien to hold onto the ball. Damien did as he was told and three seconds later felt a familiar pull at his naval as he and his mother used a port key to leave Hogwarts.**

**Damien felt his feet hit the ground and momentarily lost his balance. He pulled himself up to his feet and looked around his surroundings and felt his heart plunge into his stomach. He was standing in St Mungo's Hospital.**

"Oh thank Merlin." Sirius leaned back, relieved. Seeing the confused looks he was receiving he explained, "Dead people don't go to St Mungo's. James is gonna be fine." Now his relief was shared by everyone, except Severus, who couldn't help but be a little disappointed.

**xxx**

**"What the hell do you think that was about?" asked a thoroughly confused Ron.**

**"I don't know, but I have never seen Professor Potter like that before." Hermione replied staring at the open doors of the hall.**

**"You don't think it has something to do with…with Mr Potter, do you?" asked Ginny in a small voice.**

"Good deduction skills, Miss Weasley." Sirius imitated Moody's gruff voice to laughter.

**Everyone at the table looked away from each other, too afraid to answer. The war was getting more and more established and the light side were losing more than they could afford.**

**"This bloody sucks." said Ron in a small voice. Everyone couldn't help but agree.**

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	7. Chapter Seven: Praise of a Killer

**"Praise of a Killer"** As Remus read this he walked to the centre of the room, looking around for someone to take the book from him to read.

"Ki-Killer?" Damien nervously stuttered. "Does that mean..?" He turned with wide eyes to his father, unable to continue. James smiled reassuringly, making his way over to Damien and squatting down in front of him. He placed his hands on Damiens knees, looking up into his son's anxious face.

"No, Damien. Harry didn't kill me, I believe that. Don't you?" Damien hesitantly nodded, disbelief evident on his face. James, seeing this, sighed. "How about we just read this chapter, and find out, huh?" Damien nodded frantically, desperate to find out what happened to his dad. As James stood up, and moved to return to his seat, Damien leapt up and grabbed his cloak. James turned back to him and raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"I'm sitting with you this chapter." James beamed, moving back to his seat with Damien still clutching his cloak with white knuckles. His cloak was going to get wrinkled, but he didn't complain, knowing that his son needed comfort. He sat down and Damien snuggled down between him and Lily. Sharing an amused look with his wife as Damien wriggled under his arm, James cleared his throat, and looked pointedly at Sirius.

"Oh. OH! I'll read!" Sirius leapt out of his seat, bounding over and grabbing the book from Remus, before trotting back to his seat, reminding everyone of a dog. He dramatically sat down and exaggerated clearing his throat, earning a giggle from Ginny. Remus sighed and sat down next to him, shaking his head at his long time friends antics. Sirius began to read.

**"Mum, what's going on? Why are we at St Mungo's? Mum!" Damien was trying not to panic but the tears that had just appeared in his mother's eyes and her shaky breathing was making Damien very nervous.**

Damien gulped.

**"Damien…j-just come w-with me." Lily managed to croak out and took her son's hand, gently this time, and led him to the lifts on the other side of the hall.**

**"It's your dad Damy, he was hurt last night."**

"Hurt," Damien breathed out, relieved. "Hurt, not killed. Harry didn't kill you dad." He smiled up at his dad, who returned his smile.

"I never doubted it," he smugly proclaimed, "I had complete faith that my son didn't kill me." Everyone chose to remain silent, not mentioning the doubts James had before Dumbledore had pointed out that Harry never missed.

**Damien felt his entire world crash around him. His dad had been hurt before, being an Auror, it was an occupational hazard, but never before did he end up in the 'Serious Injuries caused by Illegal Curses' Ward. He had never seen his mum this upset either which made him think that his dad might be badly injured this time.**

"Awwww- OUCH!"

"No more noise."

"Then how am I supposed to read?"

"No noise apart from reading!"

"But it was romantic!"

"Sirius!"

"Yes Lily." Sirius withered under Lily's glare, flashing back to the time he spent at Hogwarts in fear of that look. He shivered, thinking it wise to keep his mouth shut for this chapter. Just this chapter though...

**"What happened?" he asked as they made their way up to the seventh floor. They were alone in the lift.**

**"He was on duty last night and was injured during a duel." Lily was trying her level best to keep her voice steady. It was unfair to upset Damien more than he was already.**

"I'm not upset!" Lily looked pointedly at James' arm, which Damien was still cuddled under, and Damien blushed. Shrugging his fathers arm off, he flounced back over to his seat with his friends. James chuckled, throwing his arm over his wife instead, and pulling her close.

**"What duty?" Damien asked, knowing his mother would understand his real question, Auror or Order.**

**"The first one." she said as she never said the word Order of the Phoenix when outside safe walls. She knew her son always referred to the Order as James' second job.**

"Smart." Hermione complimented Damien. Damien smiled, proud of himself.

**The doors opened and Lily and Damien rushed out of the lift and ran to room number five. They were not at all surprised to see a very tired and disgruntled Sirius sitting next to James.**

"Naturally." Remus rolled his eyes, sighing heavily. "Honestly Lily, if you didn't marry Prongs, Padfoot just might of." James and Sirius just looked at each other and shrugged.

"We're brothers Moony, you know that." James defended both himself and Sirius, seeing as the latter was still taking Lily's warning seriously.

"I know." Remus looked down. Seeing this Sirius nudged him and smiled, while James reassured,

"Your our brother too." Smiled were exchanged at the friendship between the Marauders. Seeing the way they interacted made everyone wonder how Peter could ever betray them. He wasn't just betraying his friends, they realised, he was betraying his brothers. That made it devastatingly worse.

**Damien breathed a huge sigh of relief as he saw his dad sitting up in bed taking animatedly to Sirius. He looked really pale, and there was a bandage wrapped around his neck and one on his forearm. Other than looking really tired, James seemed to be okay.**

"I'M OKAY!" James shouted, and the room broke into cheers. Snape sat moodily in the middle of a celebrating room, glumly wishing that everyone would just shut up. 'Honestly,' he thought. 'I thought we had already clarified last chapter that Potter wasn't dead.' He sneered as James and Sirius began waltzing in the middle of the room, before breaking into a dramatic tango. James dipped Sirius, who threw his head back and flung his leg into the air, making it look like he was doing the splits. The students laughed and clapped. When Sirius and James had wrapped up their dance with a 'secret handshake' (that was fourteen moves long, ending with them jumping into the air and chest bumping, while Remus threw glitter he had conjured) everyone sat down, the atmosphere considerably lighter. Sirius picked the book up again, and continued reading.

**James looked up at the two new arrivals and his face broke into a smile. Sirius also looked like he had been through hell and back, but he let his handsome face break into a smile at the sight of his pup, Damien.**

Sirius looked smug at being called handsome, putting emphasis on the word and looking around the room as he read it out.

**"Hey guys, come on in." James called out and extended his hand to take Lily's as she rushed to his side. Damien still stood at the door leaning against it to steady his heart at the sight if his dad and godfather, looking so beat up.**

Sirius, still too fearful to actually talk, settled for making pouting faces in Damien's direction, sticking his bottom lip out and widening his eyes. Damien scowled in his direction, causing his dad to laugh. Sirius joined in, his bark like laugh ringing around the room in harmony with James' heavy chuckles. Their laughter was contagious, causing Damien to break into a grin. Lily slapped Sirius upside the head, cutting him off mid laugh. She motioned toward the book, shooting him a sharp look. Sirius hurried to read on.

**"Hey pup, come on in." beckoned Sirius and gave him a lopsided grin. Damien walked in slowly and sat next to his dad.**

**"Oh come on guys, cheer up, I'm fine." James tried to get his wife and son to stop looking as if he was already dead and they were attending his funeral.**

**"Fine! You call this fine. My God James, you could have been killed…" Lily stopped suddenly and looked towards a much shaken Damien who was staring at the blue swirls pattern of the bedspread.**

"Harry wouldn't have let me die-" James began.

"You may not believe it Potter but I do." Snape curled his upper lip as he continued to speak. "He may not have meant to kill you, but make no mistake if you had of died he would not have felt guilty, or sorry."

"Only because he doesn't know who James is!" Arthur defended his friend.

"Perhaps." Snape settled back in his chair, refusing to further elaborate.

**"Damien, I'm sorry, I should not have taken you out of school like that. I had just found out about your Dad and I just reacted without thinking."**

**Damien looked up his mother.**

"I'm glad you brought me mum. I would have gone crazy if you left me at Hogwarts while dad was in hospital." Lily smiled at her considerate son, glad he wasn't mad at her for dragging him along and scaring him, even if it hadn't happened yet.

**"You did the right thing Mum. I would never have forgiven you if you had not brought me here. Just don't scream at Dad, he looks as if he's been through hell."**

"Jee thanks." James said sarcastically.

**"Oh, thanks son, I'll remember that!" smiled James trying to look offended. Damien smiled back at him.**

"Trying?" James said. "I don't doubt that I am very offended in the future, because I'm very offended now!" His face contradicted his words, however, a smile already beginning to appear.

**"So, are you gonna tell us what happened to the both of you?" he asked already knowing the answer.**

"Nope." Damien said.

"Na." Ron waved his hand in a shooing gesture, as if waving the question off.

"Can't do that pup-"

"Top secret stuff-"

"Sure you understand." The twins added, imitating Sirius 'bored' tone.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Ginny smiled sweetly, causing her brothers to lean away from her.

**"Can't pup, top secret and all that, sure you understand." Sirius replied in a boring voice that he always used to answer Damien's questions regarding the Order.**

Sirius avoided looking at the twins who had so accurately mimicked him just seconds ago.

**Damien looked towards his father, "Dad, are you going tell me?"**

"Nope." Damien said.

"Na." Ron waved his hand in a shooing gesture, as if waving the question off.

"Can't do that-"

"Yeah, we get it guys." Hermione snapped.

**James smiled sadly at his son.**

**"Honestly son, it's really boring stuff, nothing interesting."**

**Damien huffed a little and sat back with his arms crossed at his chest. A few minutes later Damien was asked by his mum to go up to the food court on the nineteenth floor and get some refreshments. Damien got up and left, quite thankful to get away from all the boring talk that was happening.**

**As soon as he had left Lily cast a Silencing charm on the room and rounded on James and Sirius.**

**"Alright, spill. What happened last night?"**

"Seriously! Send me to get food, then you talk about it!" Damien cried, outraged.

"Well, we weren't going to talk about it with you in the room, now were we?" James said, looking at his son with a raised eyebrow. "After all, it's top secret Order stuff, sure you understand." Here he winked at the giggling twins. Damien just pouted, sinking sulkily down on the couch and crossing his arms with a huff.

**James and Sirius almost looked ashamed.**

Similar to how they looked now as they recalled just who beat them, and just how old he was.

**"Well, I guess there is no other way to say it but…um…we kind of underestimated the enemy." replied a very red looking Sirius.**

"You don't say." Moody looked unhappy about doubting Harry's abilities to start off with. "At least now we won't make that mistake." Kingsley nodded, shamefaced as he remembered that he too, was one of the many people who believed that Harry would be easily beaten by the Aurors.

**"What do you mean 'underestimated'? Were there too many Death Eaters? How many were there?" Lily asked trying to imagine five Aurors fighting an army of fifteen or more Death Eaters. That would certainly explain the injuries.**

If possible, James, Sirius and Kingsley turned even redder with shame.

**"Um…one." replied James not quite meeting Lily's eyes.**

**"One" repeated Lily**

"Yeah..." James hid his face in his hands. "Oh Merlin, beaten by my own son in a duel! Harry will never let me live it down." He smiled at this however, overjoyed at the prospect of _having_ a son to have a friendly duel with, one to tease and be teased by. Damien was great, but he would never replace the bond James had with his firstborn. Damien filled the hole in his heart, and was James' treasure, his pride and joy, but Harry was his _firstborn_ , and he wanted him back more than anything in the world.

**"Yeah one." answered James and Sirius together.**

"Do you two talk in sync too?" The delighted twins turned to the startled Marauders.

"Ummm, no. It was just coincidence." James replied, uncertainty thick in his voice as he was unsure as to how the twins would react. However, they merely shrugged their shoulders, giving off the impression that they didn't care. Underneath that façade, however, they were secretly glad that they had something the famous Marauders, their idols, didn't.

**"Okay! I don't understand how could one Death Eater fight against five Aurors and put two of them in hospital?" she asked starting to feel really annoyed.**

**"Three" said a small voice that surprisingly belonged to Sirius.**

**"Excuse me?" Lily was definitely annoyed and a little ashamed.**

"Oh sweethearts," Lily sighed, putting her face in her hands and shaking it slowly. McGonagall looked at her former students, thinking that perhaps she should offer some comfort to them to halt their embarrassment. After all, she doubted anyone in the room (Exempting Dumbledore) would stand a chance against the 'Dark Prince' in a duel. However, remembering the number of grey hairs that had suddenly developed on her head in the years James and Sirius spent at Hogwarts as students, she decided against comforting them.

**"Well Kingsley is here with me and James too."**

At this, Kingsley joined James and Sirius in their apparent quest to sink as far into the comfy chairs below them as possible.

**"Hold on a minute, Kingsley Shacklebolt, the huge bloke who three Death Eaters weren't able to bring down, is also injured." Lily was staring to get really freaked out.**

**"What the hell happened?"**

"Harry." Chorused the children seated on what was deemed the 'underage' sofa. Damien took particular delight in seeing the embarrassment on his father and uncles faces, still unforgiving towards them for their future actions of excluding him from the conversation.

**"The damn kid happened." snapped Sirius, obviously not taking his failure well at all.**

**"The kid, what kid? What are you two talking about?" Lily asked, no longer able to keep up with their conversation.**

"Our kid." James and Lily smiled at each other, clasping hands. Lily rested her head on her husbands shoulder, positively giddy with joy.

**Both James and Sirius explained what happened. They told her about catching Hunt in conversation with the 'Dark Prince' who turned out to be none other but, Lord Voldemort's son.**

Growls resonated throughout the room, anger and frustration being the emotions everyone shared.

**Lily was looking from one to the other. They were famous for their pranks.**

James and Sirius looked awfully smug at this.

**Maybe this was just a joke to freak Lily out. Well it worked.**

"Come on Lils, not even we could be that cruel." James declared. Snape scoffed, remembering his years of torment at the Marauders hands, and conveniently forgetting his own sins and the torment he put them through. Lily looked up at James whispering an,

"I know," before snuggling closer to him still.

**"Please explain this to me before I pass out from shock." Lily said, hoping it was nothing more than a silly prank.**

**"I don't know what to say. I'm kind of hoping it's not true. But from seeing first hand what the boy is capable of, I think there's a good chance he is _his_ son.**

"My son." James proudly interrupted. "He's my boy, and nothing will ever change that."

**The boy was just a blur at times. He moved so fact and there was no way his moves could have been predicted." James replied.**

**"And it wasn't only wizard duelling, he was kicking our ass muggle style. Really, Lily that was the weirdest thing. The Dark Lord's son taking muggle style fighting to tackle us." Sirius informed an open mouthed Lily.**

"I can't believe that Voldemort would ever allow Harry to learn muggle fighting. You must be right Headmaster," here Remus nodded in the direction of said person, before finishing his sentence with an awed, "Harry's a bit rebellious then."

"Just like his father." Lily grinned at James.

**"And he wasn't even intimidated in the slightest that he was being faced with five fully grown Aurors. He just wiped the floor with us." James said with a slight red twinge in his pale cheeks.**

"Oh, I'm never going to live that down." James moaned, hiding his face in his hands. Moody, Kingsley, Tonks, Sirius and Remus, as well as everyone else who doubted Harry's abilities, looked suitably shame-faced. They cursed themselves for underestimating what turned out to be a powerful opponent.

**"What…what happened to Hunt?" Lily asked already fearing the answer.**

The rooms atmosphere sobered, and many visibly tensed at the reminder.

**James's face fell and a look of anger darkened his hazel eyes.**

**"He killed him, right in front of me. He was so powerful Lily, there was nothing I could do. He sent me flying in the air _wandlessly_ and the way he dealt with Hunt, it was co sold! He just killed him, without a care in the world, no remorse, nothing!"**

"My baby doesn't feel anything!" Lily cried, tears streaming down her face. "James, he doesn't feel emotion! What did that monster do to him to destroy Harry's feelings!" James pulled her closer, whispering reassurances.

"Harry will feel, he will have remorse, and when he feels the guilt we will be there for him. Lily, we will fix what Voldemort did, I promise you." Lily sniffled before smiling sadly, and James nudged Sirius signalling him to continue.

**James said. "But the really weird thing about the kid was that something about him just didn't make sense."**

"What do you mean?" Lily questioned, confused. James didn't answer, just smiled secretively, somehow knowing exactly what his future self was on about.

**"What do you mean?" Lily asked**

The repeated statement that usually would have made Lily the butt of many jokes was ignored, everyone leaning forward and listening intently to Sirius' every word.

**James as he dropped his gaze from her. Even Sirius was leaning closer to hear this.**

**"Well, he just, I don't know, he just made me feel really uneasy. Like when he was fighting he didn't use any Unforgivables, just standard spells like Stupefy and Incendio. He didn't actually kill anyone except for Hunt. That just doesn't make sense. Death Eaters are all about numbers. They kill and torture as many as they can. But this kid, he just dealt with us and got to Hunt. He didn't cause any other casualties."**

"That's...true." McGonagall sounded surprised. "How did we not notice that?"

"We were in shock." Arthur supplied. "Shock that Harry was alive and could do those things. But," He turned to James, "A father always knows." James smiled.

**"He could have!" interjected Sirius with a nod towards James. "You were lucky that…that…blade, star thing he threw didn't cut you too deep, otherwise..." Sirius couldn't finish. He looked away, trying not to remember how his friend had looked when he found him in a pool of his own blood.**

"Ah mate." James began, looking uncomfortable. "I'm sorry. I mean, because I almost died. I mean, not that Harry would have killed me! Because he wouldn't. But if he did, accidently, and you had to see it... I mean, hypothetically... well I'm just, I'm sor-" Sirius cut him off with a hug. James sighed in relief, returning the hug and grabbing Remus, who sat beside Sirius, pulling him into the hug.

Lily let them have their brotherly moment, knowing how much the Marauders meant to each other, 'probably why they were all so torn up after Peters betrayal,' she thought. She gently nudged James, who pulled back from the group hug and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Sirius removed himself from Remus' grasp, cleared his throat and began to read again.

**"It's called a Shuriken." James informed him.**

"How-" Remus began, to be cut off by Sirius nudging him. Padfoot looked pointedly at the book, and read on.

**"How do you know that?" Lily asked at once** **,**

Here Sirius paused, raising a pointed eyebrow at Remus. "Yeah, yeah." Remus muttered. "Keep reading, you mutt."

**surprised that James knew the name of a muggle weapon, such as the ninja stars.**

**"Healer Thomas told me. He's a muggle born and recognised it from my description."**

"Naturally," Remus smirked.

"What's that supposed to mean?" James asked, looking offended.

"You're always curious, but can't be bothered doing your own research." Remus explained.

"Why bother, when other people can tell you what you need to know?"

"Don't listen to him Damien." Lily quickly told her son, who merely avoided looking at Hermione, who had suddenly realised that Damien was exactly the same as his father.

**James told her before turning to Sirius. "I know that he tried to kill me, but see that's the thing. I don't think he really wanted to hurt me. He told me to move out of the way like three times, it was only when I attacked him that he retaliated. I mean I did give him quite a nasty cut…"**

**"Why on earth are you making excuses for him!" exclaimed Lily.**

"Ah, I can see it now." Fred said, pretending to daydream. "Harry! Why are you late home!" He exclaimed, mimicking Lily fairly accurately. His twin immediately joined in.

"I know he arrived late, but that's the thing. I don't think he really meant to hurt you love. He said he loves us three times when he left, it was only after you hugged him that he bolted. I mean, you did give him quite a nasty lipstick stain..." George adopted the role of James, to appreciative applause from Sirius and Remus, and laughter from his brothers and Damien.

"Why on Earth are you making excuses for him!" Fred shrieked. Unable to retain their façade any longer, the twins started laughing. Molly rolled her eyes affectionately, before asking Sirius to begin reading again. He did, and the twins immediately suppressed their laughter in order to listen.

**"He tried to kill you and you are going on about him as if he was forced to do this!" added an irritated Sirius.**

"Because he is. No one just _wants_ to kill... right?" James started off certain, before looking unsure.

**James closed his mouth and bowed his head slightly, why was he making excuses. He had seen the rage quite clearly in the boy's eyes. He knew that the boy had attacked him with the intent to kill but something inside him just didn't want to believe it. Then there was the fact that the boy had seemed somewhat familiar to him.**

"Familiar?" Lily glanced at Damien. Was it possible Harry was like Damien?

**James didn't know how it was possible but he felt that he knew him from somewhere. That voice had seemed very familiar. He didn't want to admit it, but the boy's voice has reminded him of Damien.**

"YES!" Damien pumped his fist into the air, thrilled at this news. The thought of being similar to his 'cool' older brother was exciting to him, and made him want to meet Harry even more.

**However he kept this from Lily and Sirius. He didn't want to sound crazier than he was sounding already.**

"Not crazy." Lily whispered.

**He sighed.**

**"I guess I just don't want to believe that a child can be so evil." he told them.**

"Harry is not evil!" Surprisingly, this statement came from the fierce looking Tonks, who had taken quite a liking to Harry and refused to accept that statement.

**Lily comforted her husband and Sirius looked down at the ground deep in thought. He understood what James meant. It was not only disturbing but a little heart breaking to see such a young boy in battle and taking other's lives so mercilessly.**

Rage at Voldemort and sadness for Harry were the two emotions shared by all, even the usually unsympathetic Snape.

**Before they could say anything else Damien reappeared in the room, holding lots of refreshments. He took in the sight of his mother, her arms wrapped up around his father, who was looking really defeated and his uncle Sirius also looking very upset.**

**"Is everything okay?" he asked as he dumped the goodies on his father's bed.**

'No,' Damien thought, taking in the expressions of the rooms occupants, before gazing at his brothers face in the photograph, smiling sadly at it as Harry pointed at him. 'Everything is not okay, but it will be.'

**"Well it is now, that you got chocolate frogs and sherbet pops!" said his father while taking one each of his favourite candy and looking at Damien as if he were Father Christmas.**

**Damien sighed and ripped open a chocolate frog of his own and watched it jump up and down on his dad's bed. Honestly, he didn't think his father would ever grow up.**

**xxx**

**Harry walked**

Everyone noticeably perked up at the mention of Harry, the twins going as far as to let out a cheer.

**steadily over to his room. His mind and body thoroughly exhausted from the lesson he had just had with Lucius Malfoy.**

"Well, now we have conformation that he's a Death Eater!" Sirius bounced excitedly in his seat. He hated the man Cissy had married, and was thrilled that she had rebelled against both him and the 'Dark Lord' he served, brining Dumbledore the book.

"We can't arrest him." Tonks grumbled, to Sirius' outraged exclamation of,

"WHY?!"

"Because," Moody answered for her, "We don't have proof. The Minister won't accept the excuse, 'Oh a book telling us all about the future of the Potters dead son told us!' Now will he?"

"No." Sirius sulked.

"And if you were thinking straight, Black, and not getting distracted by 'family' matters, you would know that." Severus sneered. He was pleased Lucius wouldn't be arrested, as a long time friend of the Malfoys. He was even Draco's godfather, for Merlins sake.

**At least he had managed to finally get to grips with the Lacerate curse.**

"The Lacerate curse?" James chocked out, devastated that his son knew such a dark curse. The Aurors, Arthur, Snape, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Bill and Charlie all looked shocked, with the rest of the room sitting in confusion, not knowing what the 'Lacerate curse' was.

"James?" Lily questioned, but he just shook his head sadly.

"I can't believe Harry knows how to perform _that_." Arthur looked and sounded depressed.

"And after only one lesson too." Tonks added softly.

"The boys powerful, that's for sure." Moody grumbled, impressed despite himself.

"We shouldn't be surprised," McGonagall forced out, "After all, the boy can perform... Unforgivables." She looked at the Potters apologetically, and received sad smiles in return. They might not be happy about it, or approve, but it was true, and they couldn't change that.

**It was a very difficult hex but he had managed in the end.**

**Harry's room was located in a secret location of the castle that was Lord Voldemort's home. Harry had always known his self importance but had never quite given up the urge of exploring.**

Remus nudged James. "Sounds like someone I know."

**However an incident when he was seven years old had taught Harry the hard way to keep himself a secret.**

"In-Incident?" Lily stuttered out, looking at James worriedly. He answered her wordless question with a shrug, looking nervous himself. What kind of incident could make their son scared and cautious?

**So his father had an entire wing of the castle dedicated to Harry.**

Damien squashed down the jealousy welling within him. He would never trade his childhood for Harry's, no matter how many cool things Harry had. Damien had his parents, and that was enough for him.

I wasn't enough for Ron though, as the youngest boy in his family he always wanted and demanded more from his parents, no matter how much he loved them. He opened his mouth to complain about the unfairness of it but was interrupted by Hermione's sharp elbow digging into his ribs. He cowered before her equally sharp glare, keeping his mouth shut.

**As a child he had spent many hours exploring his surroundings and had endless adventures here.**

Lily smiled sadly. 'At least he spent some time acting like the little boy he was,' she thought.

**Harry opened his door and entered his chamber. It was a huge room and had everything Harry would ever need for training, relaxing and generally anything else he wanted.**

"Cool." Fred breathed. "Well not the training cause euch!" Here he pulled a disgusted face, shaking his head, making Ginny giggle. "But all the rest is cool."

**He strode over to his huge wardrobe and flicked it open wandlessly.**

"Wandlessly" Hermione mouthed.

**He took out a pair of casual dark blue robes to replace his dark green ones.**

Dumbledore frowned at the Slytherin colours. 'That will have to change once he comes to Hogwarts.' He thought.

**He caught himself in the mirror and stood for a moment just looking at the reflection.**

Lily squeezed James' hand eagerly as he grinned. Beaming Sirius excitedly announced, "bet five galleons he looks like James."

Lily didn't bother to tell him off for talking, impressed he had managed to last as long as he did. "No one will be stupid enough to take that bet, Pads." Remus said (Ron horridly closed his mouth as Hermione smirked - in his defence he never even knew Harry existed, let alone what he looked like). "Besides," Remus smiled, "He won't look exactly like James." He sighed smiling sadly at the photo of little Harry on the table, "He'll have Lily's eyes."

**He never gave his appearance a lot of heed and it was not needed since he had a natural ease of looking good no matter what.**

"Well, I don't know who he got that from." Sirius smirked at Lily and James, who glared back.

"Probably from all the time he spent with me." Remus smugly ran a hand through his hair. Tonks giggled quietly, looking at him adoringly. Sirius saw and waggled his eyebrows at her, causing her to turn red. She used her unique ability to change her skin tone back to normal before anyone else saw.

**He ran a hand in his usual messy locks and pushed his bangs out of his eyes.**

"Messy locks." Sirius looked over at James, who ran his hand through his own messy hair and positively beamed.

**As he did this the light caught his unusual scar and illuminated it against his forehead.**

"His scar." Lily whispered.

"The only thing marring his appearance, I bet he hates it." Sirius stated, to nods from everyone.

**Harry traced the scar slowly with his fingers. It was the only thing about his appearance that he liked.**

"HUH?!" Cried the whole room.

**His messy black hair, sparkling green eyes and the rest of his features were of someone that he despised with all his might.**

"Despises?" Lily whispered to the silent room. "But why?" It was as if these words broke a dam, as the room flooded with noise.

"I don't understand?"

"Why?"

"Despise with all his might?"

"Makes no sense-"

"Merlin-"

"James, Lily, I'm sure he doesn't mean it-"

"Probably just confused-"

"Brainwashed-"

'Most likely-"

"Doesn't know what he's talking about-"

"Raised by Voldemort, bound to have some repercussions-"

"ENOUGH!" Dumbledore cried, silencing the room at once. "The book will provide the answers, so, if you will Mr Black." He nodded at Sirius, who started reading again.

**His father had not allowed him to change his appearance, no matter how much Harry had begged him.**

Silent tears streamed down Lily's face as James clutched at he arm desperately.

**Harry tilted his head slightly and smiled as he took off his green robes. Although he was only sixteen years old he had already achieved the body of a warrior.**

"Sixteen is too young to be a warrior." McGonagall whispered, scandalised.

**His arms and chest were already muscled and he had worked hard to get his body to be that way. Endless hours of practise and training had resulted in a very well formed body and mind that Harry couldn't help but be a little proud of. He wasn't very tall or short. For his age he was perfect. If Harry had been at school, like all the normal boys of his age, he would have been very popular with the girls.**

Hermione and Ginny blushed at the mental image, glad that no one was looking in their direction, as they were all so absorbed in the book. Hermione's blush faded as she thought of Ron, her first crush. Honestly how that boy was still oblivious...  
Ginny's face remained flaming as she struggled to remove the image from her head. Every time she succeeded she could feel those strong arms encircling her, and her face went bright red again.

**Harry had just dressed into his casual robes when there was a knock on his door. Harry flicked his door open wandlessly and saw Lucius Malfoy standing at his doorstep.**

**Harry wasn't surprised to see him. There were only two Death Eaters that could enter his wing, without giving the password and one of them was Lucius Malfoy.**

"Bet the other one is Bella." Sirius muttered.

"Most likely." Dumbledore smiled, completely undeterred to the tension both Sirius and Tonks were feeling, due to Bellatrix being related to them. Although Tonks felt it to a smaller degree than Sirius, she was still saddened by her family members betrayal, especially after hearing the stories her mother would tell her about when she was a child growing up with her sisters. Bellatrix always seemed so loving in those stories... Tonks' face hardened, but perhaps that was just her mothers biased opinion.

**"Yes?" Harry asked, wondering what he had forgotten to say as he had spent the last four hours with him.**

**"I just wanted to congratulate you once again. It is unheard of to be able to learn the Lacerate curse in just one session." Lucius said, with a hint of a smile.**

**"Most of the things I do are unheard of." Harry replied with a smirk.**

Sirius whistled. "Cocky." Remus stated. "Arrogant, over-confident-"

"Sounds like a certain someone I know," Lily interrupted, smirking at her husband. Damien roared with laughter at the look on his dads face.

**Lucius couldn't help beam with pride over Harry. He had known Harry since he was brought to Lord Voldemort and over the years had developed a growing compassion for the raven haired teen. It was him that had fondly named Harry the 'Dark Prince'.**

"Of course he did." Sirius sneered. He had always hated Lucius, and despised the fact that Cissy chose to marry him. Snape looked disgruntled, but didn't comment. The Malfoy's were long time friends of his, he was even the godfather of their only son. He never told everyone of his exact relationship with Draco and the rest of the Malfoys, fearing that they would believe him to be a traitor if they found out.

**Lucius was very proud that Draco had become best friends with the Dark Lord's heir**

Silence.

"Get him." Lily directed the command at the old Headmaster, who merely looked at Snape. Severus stood and hurried out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him.

The room waited in shocked silence for his return. Ron broke the disbelieving atmosphere with a frustrated cry.

"Ron? Ron what's wrong?" Molly questioned, concerned for her son.

"Malfoys friends with him, that's what!" Ron hissed. "He beat me, again!"

"Honestly Ronald," Hermione scolded. "You should be focusing on something other than your petty feud with Malfoy, and your jealousy."

"Like what?" Ron rudely questioned.

"Like the fact that Harry had a friend." The room fell into shocked silence at this, as Hermione elaborated. "I, for one, am glad that Malfoy is Harrys friend, it means he had one." Ron contemplated this before nodding.

"Your right, I'm sorry. I can't believe Malfoy kept it a secret though."

"You would be surprised what one would do when threatened with death, Weasley." Heads snapped to the door, which had silently opened to admit the two Slytherins. "That was the Dark Lords warning, well threat, after all." The young blonde continued, gracefully sitting down on the couch with his Head of House. "Snape explained everything on the way." Draco curtly informed Dumbledore, before settling back in his seat, relaxed.

"He threatened to kill you?" Ginny gasped.

"No." Draco stated. "He threatened to kill my parents in front of me." Ginny's flew to her mouth in shock as Hermione gasped. "He threatened to torture me." Draco continued calmly, as if the threat didn't bother him. "Shouldn't you be reading?" He sneered at Sirius, raising an eyebrow delicately at him. "If you don't know how, just pass it to someone who can. No use embarrassing yourself."

Sirius growled and began to read.

**since that would ensure Draco's success in the wizarding world once it was under Lord Voldemort's control. He knew that Draco had been saved from Lord Voldemort by Harry many times, as Draco's arrogance and tendency not to follow rules had caused much embarrassment.**

Draco smirked, remembering times spent with his closest friend. Lily saw this, and restrained herself from asking him to tell her about her son, remembering the comment Harry made earlier in the book about despising them. If he did, then it was highly likely that the notion was shared by his best friend.

**Luckily the growing friendship the two boys shared had made life very easy for the Malfoy family and, if it was possible, they were now even more arrogant and obnoxious.**

Draco frowned at that, before shrugging. Harry had said it enough times for him to accept the fact that it was probably true.

**"I would like to be there when you perform this curse." Lucius said carefully.**

"Not going to happen, father." Draco snorted.

**Harry looked over at him before replying. He had gone over this many times with him.**

**"I told you. I like working alone." Harry said as he closed the door to his wardrobe.**

**"I know, and I respect your decision. It's just, I would like to see you in a duel. It would be a sight to remember." Lucius said.**

**Harry raised an eyebrow at him.**

**"Well, you can't. Deal with it." Harry replied, cutting the conversation short.**

The blonde Slytherin sniggered.

**Lucius didn't say anymore. He knew better than to argue with Harry.**

**Before he could say anymore the door behind him opened again. Thinking that it was probably Bella, as she was the only other person who could come to Harry's room, Lucius turned around with a sneer on his face.**

**"I told you Harry would learn it in one session, Bella."**

"Five sickles says it's not Bella." Fred whispered in his twins ear.

"Your on." George whispered back.

**His sneer slipped off his face when he saw that it was actually Lord Voldemort standing before him. Without another word, the aristocrat Malfoy fell to his knees and bowed to his Lord.**

George sighed, fishing the money out of his pockets and handing it to his smirking brother.

**Harry looked on with a little distaste. He never found the whole, 'obey me and behave like I am God' thing very appealing. The mere thought that soon people will be doing that in front of him made him feel slightly nauseous.**

'Interesting.' Dumbledore thought.

**"Leave us." Voldemort said in his high cold voice.**

**At once, Lucius Malfoy rose to his feet and left the room. Harry waited until Malfoy had left before addressing his father. He was surprised to see him in his room. Usually he summoned Harry to see him.**

"Like a dog at his masters beck and call." Moody stated, to frowns. James opened his mouth to protest, but was interrupted by Draco's laughter. Confused he, along with everyone else, turned to look at the laughing boy.

"Better not let Harry hear you say that." Draco said, amusement clear in his tone, "He might just kill you." Taken back, no one said anything, until Sirius cleared his throat to break the silence before reading.

**"Is everything alright, father?" Harry asked, a tinge of worry in his voice.**

**Voldemort took a moment to observe the teen standing before him. The sound of Harry's voice alone was enough to calm him down.**

'What?' was the thought running through the majority of the rooms head.

**"Everything is fine." He answered before walking further into the room.**

**Harry looked at his father. He knew something was bothering him. It wasn't all that hard to figure it out. But Harry didn't say anything to contradict him. He knew his father would bring up the reason for his visit sooner or later.**

James winced every time Sirius reluctantly read out the word 'father'.

**Sure enough, Voldemort reached into his robes and pulled out a small box. He held it in his hand for a moment before handing it to Harry.**

**Wordlessly, Harry opened it and stared at the sight before him. Inside the small box was a silver pendant. It was in the shape of a serpent that had two heads on either side of its intertwined body. The eyes of the serpent were a shimmering green colour that seemed to almost hypnotize you.**

'Cool,' Draco thought, 'gonna have to get Harry to show me that.'

**Harry looked up at his father with a questioning look.**

**"This belonged to our great ancestor, Salazar Slytherin. I want you to have it." Voldemort explained, reading his heir's thoughts.**

Eyes widened around the room at the knowledge of where the gift came from.

**Harry was now eyeing the pendant with an awed expression. Voldemort loved it when he managed to bring out a childhood expression from Harry.**

**"But this pendant has another special aspect to it. This pendant has a piece of my soul in it, so I only see it fitting that you have it with you at all times."**

"We have to destroy that pendant." Dumbledore announced. "I cannot explain it, but it is necessary if we wish to defeat Voldemort." The Order members nodded, even the underage students looked determined to get their hands on the pendant. Draco noted that he would also have to warn Harry to keep all future presents from his father even safer than he already does.

**Harry's expression changed from awe to sudden understanding. He looked down at the pendant before fixing his stare to his father's face.**

**"Why are you giving it to me?" Harry asked in his most controlled voice.**

**Voldemort kept his eyes fixed to Harry as he answered.**

**"I want you to always remember who you are." Was the simple answer.**

"What does that mean?" Bill wondered, to silence.

**Harry felt his heart leap in his chest. He knew what brought this to his father's mind. He reached into the box and took out the beautiful pendant. He slipped the chain over his head and let the pendant, his father's Horcrux, sit on his chest, next to his heart.**

James and Lily flinched at the thought of a part of that monsters soul resting so close to their sons heart.

**Without taking his eyes away from his father, Harry spoke.**

**"I'll always be your son." Harry said. "I don't have to be reminded of who I am. I know what you're thinking, but that's not the truth. Just because I never managed to kill him doesn't mean anything. I'm your son, and your son alone. I'm not a Potter, I never was." Harry finished, his voice reduced to a whisper.**

"What?" Lily sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "What does he mean, 'never was?'" She turned to Dumbledore for answers, but it was Draco who snapped,

"Don't act like you don't know Potter." James stood from the couch, outraged.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He demanded. Draco rose from his position, and moved to join James in standing in the middle of the room, shouting,

"Don't pretend Potter! You know damn well what I'm talking about! HARRY TOLD ME EVERYTHING!" The last part came out as a roar. James briefly stepped back, and Draco stepped closer whispering, "No wonder he hates you." He looked James up and down. "You disgust me." Draco turned away, but James roughly grabbed his arm spinning him back around. Draco looked up at the slightly taller man, fear in his eyes even as he hissed, "You going to hit me, Potter?"

James let go of Draco, stepping back in shock. "No. I would never hit a child, no matter how much they deserve it."

Draco sneered, turning and walking back to his seat muttering, "could have fooled me." Only Dumbledore heard him, he frowned as he considered what the young Malfoy could possibly mean.

Sirius awkwardly cleared his throat to read.

**Voldemort felt the worry lift from his mind. He had put a lot of work into Harry. It was frightening to think that after all he had done and all the effort he had put into raising Harry, he could still have any compassion for the Potters.**

'What?' Draco thought, sitting up straight in surprise. 'What could that mean?... I have to talk to Harry.' He slumped back down, arranging his cool, calculating mask back over his face in a matter of seconds. Only Snape noticed the Slytherins slip up.

**Voldemort walked over to Harry and placed his hands on his shoulders.**

**"You are always going to be my son, I know that. No one is ever going to take you away from me." He said carefully.**

"Oh we will." Sirius growled. Draco frowned at that. Did they want to take Harry away from his father to hurt him, or save him.

**Harry looked a lot more relaxed. He looked down at the pendant and a look of panic crossed his face.**

**"My assignments, what if something happens to this on one of my assignments. What if…"**

**"Don't worry, the pendant has many charms placed on it including a non breakable one. Only you or I would be able to take it off once you are wearing it. No matter what happens, it can't be taken from you."**

"Damn." Moody growled. "Can't destroy it unless he takes it off."

**Voldemort smiled again as he saw the worry lift away from Harry's emerald eyes and they shone like bright jewels at the thought of having something like this with him.**

**"Thank you, father." Harry said before tucking the pendant underneath his robes. "Just don't tell Bella you gave me this. I don't think she'll ever recover." Harry said with a playful smirk.**

**Voldemort laughed, something that only Harry managed to make him do, and both father and son headed for the door. It was time for dinner.**

Draco casually stood, gracefully walking over to a desk that popped up in the corner. He sat down, aware of the suspicious gazes on his back, and slowly started to write down his letter. He scribbled the letter on one paper, and some potions nonsense on the other.

"What are you doing?" Moody snapped, limping over to where Draco was seated. The Slytherin smoothly slid his letter under the 'potions work'.

"Potions." He looked up at Moodys scarred face and smirked. "Is that a crime?" He stood up. "Going to throw me in Azkaban?" Moody looked over Malfoy's shoulder at the piece of paper, noting the scribbled potions work. He gestured for Snape to come over.

"Is this your Potions work?" He snapped, gesturing towards the paper. Snape leant over, examining the work. He turned and raised a greasy eyebrow at Malfoy in a silent question, who held his gaze before quickly blinking twice in response. Mad-Eye was too occupied with reading the parchment on the desk to bother watching them, and therefore missed the silent exchange.

"Yes." Snape finally said. "Yes it is." Alastor grumbled, before nodding and lumbering away. Snape grabbed Malfoy tightly by the arm, making the boy wince, hissing in his ear, "be careful," before striding back to his seat. Molly clapped her hands together causing many to jump.

"How about something to eat?" She asked, and Ron's stomach growled. Malfoy sat down and returned to his letter.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	8. Chapter Eight: Plan To Capture

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has things which are translated/explained in the end of chapter notes, if you're curious. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Molly jumped off of the comfortable couch she was seated on, marching over to Liky an yanking the younger woman out of her chair. Keeping a firm grip on the other redheads hand, Molly asked, "Will you make food with me Lily? You're so much better at multitasking that I am." Lily smiled in acceptance, ignoring the blatant lie Molly told. The older woman was an expert multitasker, something she excelled at due to the demands of taking care of and raising seven children.

Standing together and looking around the room, both women ignored the curious stares they were receiving as they appeared to do nothing. "Mum?" Damien asked, "What are you doing? You said you would make food."

"And we will Damy," Lily smiled at her son, "just as soon as we find a kitchen to cook in."

Almost as if these words were a command, a kitchen sprung to life at the far side of the room. The witches and wizards watched in awe as benches unfolded like cardboard boxes assembling themselves, a fridge slid across the room into its spot by a stove/oven that descended from the roof. Pots and pans, well, popped into place inside one cupboard, knives zooming around before slotting into a knife holder on the bench. James ducked as all sorts of ingredients flew over his head performing loop-de-loops before resting either in the pantry or fridge.

Almost as soon as it had begun, everything stopped, leaving a gleaming replica of Lily Potters kitchen situated about ten meters away from the 'reading area', and as far away from a furiously scribbling Draco as possible.

"Well then." Molly smiled. "What shall we make?"

As the women scrambled over to the kitchen to prepare some tasty food, followed by the twins who, thanks to years of making tasty treats for their shop, were actually very good, creative cooks, a blond headed Slytherin was debating what to write in his letter.

 _Harry,_ 'No that's too obvious.' Draco thought, erasing it with a quick spell. He couldn't afford to be caught writing to his friend, lest the occupants of the room demanded that Draco invite Harry to join them, something the blond boy was certain his friend wouldn't appreciate. That ruled out writing in English. Draco mentally reviewed all the languages both himself and his friend knew, silently cursing the fact that despite numerous attempts, Harry was unable to teach him Parseltounge. He hesitated, before deciding to write in Latin. 'It is,' he thought to himself, 'after all, not very well known. Just have to make sure that muggle loving old fool doesn't read it.' With that in mind, he began to write.

_Henricus,_

_Nunc autem scripsi vobis non putatis vos certiores et excting, alia vice in die amet.  
_ _Sicut superius cubiculum aliud accitus ad librum. Hoc libro de Harrius eam tibi. Alter locus est in hac misera tanti incolarum, aut tua tamen casu vocandi casus habes hic tuorum parentum vicibus. Certiorem te expetam conabor, quid agatur, non tamen obsecro te certiorem obscuris Dominum nec usquam._

_Quod_

Draco.

**(1)**

Finished, he sealed the letter and quietly snapped his fingers. A house elf popped unseen into the room next to him. "Take this," He silently hissed, thrusting the letter in to the elves shaking hands, "and deliver it to the Dark Prince. Make sure no one else sees you."

"Yes Master Malfoy." The elf bowed, and disappeared with a _crack_ , that Draco masked with a cough. Pleased with himself, he gracefully stood and strode over to the dining table the others were seated at, sliding into place beside his Head of House.

* * *

The meal was a silent affair, all conversation cut off after Lily received a stony glare from Draco after enquiring about Harry. James looked furious, wanting to teach the Slytherin some manners, but remained seated next to his wife as she ate. Once everyone was finished, there was a murmur of "That's lovely, very nice, well done Molly, Lily, boys." Before everyone rose and moved to the reading area, sitting down on the same couches as before. Lily muttered a spell, causing all the dishes to rise and zoom over to the sink, washing, drying and putting themselves away. She joined her husband on the couch, and waited for someone to read.

Fred, after a moments hesitation, picked the book up and cleared his throat. He continued coughing away until his twin elbowed him sharply in the side. "Get on with it," George muttered, rolling his eyes. Smirking, Fred began to read.

**"Plan to Capture"**

"Capture?" Damien perked up, "as in, capture Harry?"

"Most likely, Mr Potter," Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he saw the excitement his answer brought to Damien.

**Harry walked silently through the grounds. He was heading back after a few hours of training. He knew that all the Death Eaters were inside the Manor but he still kept a hold of his mask in his hand, just in case he needed to use it.**

"That's depressing." Ron announced suddenly.

"What is?" Hermione inquired.

"Well, he has to wear that mask all the time, right? He can never be seen, so he has to wear that thing. It'd be bloody annoying, if you ask me."

"Better than the alternative," Draco piped up.

"Alternative?" Ginny asked.

"Yes Weasley." The blond boy sneered, "If a Death Eater sees him without his mask on, and goes about spreading rumours that a boy who looks like a younger version of James Potter with green eyes," Lily and James noticeably brightened at hearing this, sitting up straighter with mile-wide grins on their faces, "then the 'light' side," Draco mimicked quotation marks with his hands as he said this, "is bound to find out about it, and stage a 'rescue'."

"And why is that a bad thing?" Sirius demanded.

"Because Harry doesn't want to be with you lot," Draco sneered, "he would consider your 'rescue' a kidnapping." James and Lily deflated at this, but didn't lose hope.

"That's because Voldemort has brainwashed him." James defended. "Once he finds out the truth, he will want to be with us, his family." Lily nodded, but Draco just shook his head disgustedly.

"And when the people in this room find out what you did, they won't want to be anywhere near you. Unless," he looked around the room suspiciously, "they were all involved too."

"What are you talking about?" Lily heatedly demanded.

"Never mind that!" Severus Snape snapped suddenly, "if we read, there is a high chance that you can find the answers to all of your questions. These constant interruptions grow tiresome."

Fred hurried to continue when he saw Sirius and Remus open their mouths to retaliate.

**Harry was beyond tired. He had trained for nearly five hours straight.**

"Five hours?" Hermione squeaked, quailing under the glare Severus sent her way.

**He never usually spent that kind of time training**

Sighs of relief were heard, no one liking the idea of Harry wearing himself down by training so much. They liked the idea that he was possibly training to kill even less, but pushed the thought to the back of their minds, determined to only think the best of Harry.

**but lately it was all he wanted to do. He knew it was the pent up frustration inside him that wanted out and this was the only way out.**

"He could do something else." Ginny meekly said.

"He does, he goes on assignments and kills people." Draco muttered, however in the silence of the room, everyone heard.

"I'm thinking that we get him into reading when he comes to live with us," James told Lily, who nodded in agreement.

**Well, this and going on assignments.**

Draco smirked.

**Harry continued walking through the woodland area that separated his training grounds from the main Manor. Just as he walked deeper into the woodland he heard it, a sound behind him. Harry didn't stop walking but he instinctively strained to hear where the sound was coming from.**

"Nice." Moody nodded.

**His wand was safely tucked in the upholster on his arm. Harry continued walking, making it look like he didn't notice that someone was following him.**

"Very nice." Kingsley agreed.

**He could hear the footsteps behind him clearly now.**

**It all happened in an instant.**

**With one hand Harry threw on his mask and with the same hand he reached for his wand. He turned around on the spot and blindly grabbed the person that was sneaking up on him. Harry's hand was wrapped around the person's neck before he realised who it was. Harry slammed the person into the nearest tree before aiming his wand at their throat.**

"Amazing." Tonks clarified. "Simply, amazing."

**He was more than surprised to see the blond boy in his grip, moaning at the pain of being slammed against a tree.**

"Asshole." Draco grumbled. "He's a paranoid asshole."

"That's you?" Ron asked, shocked.

"No, it's his other blond friend, Weasley."

"I thought he didn't have other friends, Malfoy?"

"Honestly Ronald." Hermione shook her head, ignoring Ron's indignant "What?"

**"Ow! Paranoid much, Harry?!" the boy said angrily.**

"Very," Draco drawled.

**Harry smirked behind his mask and released him. Harry reached over and took off his mask before pocketing his wand.**

"So he can be seen around you?" Hermione asked. Draco stared at her, before impersonating the Defence Professor, slowing saying

"Obviously." In a pompous tone. Fred and George sniggered, before catching themselves. They weren't going to be caught laughing at a joke a Malfoy made.

**"Draco, why were you sneaking up on me?" Harry asked his childhood friend.**

"I'm not sneaking! I just don't want to get caught!" Draco exclaimed.

"Get caught? By who?" Draco ignored Molly Weasley's question, focusing on the book with a pointed look. Molly got the message, the book would answer her question where Draco wasn't going to.

**Draco Malfoy was rubbing the back of his head and shot Harry an angrily look.**

**"I wasn't _sneaking_ anywhere! I was just being quiet, that's all." He said.**

**Harry smirked in response.**

**"Afraid father would catch you?" Harry asked.**

"What, doesn't he like you?" Ron smirked.

"Hates me, wants me dead." Draco flippantly said, drawing many concerned looks from the occupants in the room.

**It was no secret the Lord Voldemort hated Draco Malfoy. He blamed him for distracting Harry from his training and his lessons.**

"More like he distracts me." Draco said, grimacing, "I still haven't forgiven him for flinging those bat droppings at me." The Marauders, Damien, Ron, Tonks, Fred and George roared with laughter.

"Sounds like you, eh Prongsie?" Sirius managed to choke out around laughter. James nodded, still unable to contain his laughter. Soon they were joined by others, who didn't necessarily laugh out loud but did smile wide. The laughter died down as people realised that they weren't laughing because it was that funny, but because they were relieved that Harry was acting like a child, instead of the warrior he was trained as. When the last few slightly hysterical giggles died down, Fred began reading again.

**Draco didn't say anything but cast a wary glance around him.**

**"See, this is why you should come over to my house." Draco told him.**

**Harry laughed in response. They started walking towards the Manor. Draco was a lot more relaxed now. If he was with Harry, then he was fine, even facing Lord Voldemort was possible if Harry was by his side.**

The smiles brought about by the strength of the two boys friendship were quickly replaced by looks of horror when Fred read the next line.

**If he was alone, then there was the chance that he wouldn't make it back home.**

"Wh-What?" Hermione made a strangled sound.

"And you still go?" A very pale James asked.

"Well, of course." Draco said in a 'duh' tone, "Harrys my friend, I have to visit him."

"That's very brave of you Mr Malfoy, and loyal. You would make an excellent Gryffindor-" Dumbledore cut himself off when he saw the look of disgust on Draco's face. 'Maybe not,' he thought.

**"So, when did you get back?" Harry asked as the trudged their way up the hill.**

**"I got back ages ago, but father thought it was best to stay away for a while. He said you were busy with things, so I had to sit around and get bored senseless for a few weeks." Draco replied.**

"Hate it when that happens." Draco pouted, crossing his arms. Lily smiled, his behaviour reminding her of when Damien couldn't see his friends.

**"I had assignments." Harry answered simply.**

James flinched. His son couldn't spend time with his best friend, being a teenager, because he was off killing people.

**"I wish I could go on an assignment with you." sighed Draco.**

**Harry snorted and gave Draco a funny look.**

**"You, in battle! I would like to see that!" Harry said while silently loving the look of incredulity that appeared on his friend's face.**

"Why not? I'm a good dueller?" Draco said in a dignified voice.

**"What! Why not? I am a good dueller!" he replied in a dignified voice.**

Damien snorted in amusement and Ron chuckled. Draco glared at them both.

**"You would probably keep on asking the opponent if your hair had fallen out of place." laughed Harry as Draco threw him a dirty look.**

"Like you would know anything about looking good, with that messy hair." Draco laughed.

**"It's no crime to look good, but of course you wouldn't know anything about that! When was the last time you tried brushing that mop you call hair?" Draco asked while shooting Harry a half heartened glare.**

Draco struggled to not blush at the stares he was receiving.

**Harry just shrugged and ran his hand through his hair while replying:**

**"Not everyone is as high maintenance as you, Draco."**

Said boy scowled, mentally rethinking his choice to be Harrys friend.

**Harry watched his best friend fumble around trying to find a good enough insult to throw back at him. He had gone quite red.**

**"Yeah, well you're a…"**

**"A what?" asked a high cold voice.**

Draco gulped. The quiet sniggers that had been going around the room as the two boys traded insults ceased immediately.

**Draco spun around to see Lord Voldemort standing behind him. His red, merciless eyes were fixed on him. Draco fell to his knees at once as he was brought up to do.**

The Order members curled their lips in disgust at that. They despised the way children of Death Eaters were brought up to be submissive to Voldemort, considering it the equivalent of brainwashing. Perhaps if they weren't, half of the teens wouldn't even consider joining the man.

**"I hope you were not about to insult my son, were you?" Voldemort asked, dislike lacing his words.**

**"No, my Lord! I would never…" Draco started.**

**"Leave!" Voldemort ordered him.**

**Draco stood up and without as much as a backward glance at Harry, he made to leave. Lord Voldemort stopped the very pale and scared looking Draco and looked at him up and down with plain disgust on his face.**

Draco paled further and looked down, missing the concerned looks many threw his way.

**"Young Malfoy. I understand it that you have come home for the holidays. I want to remind you that this is _not_ your home so I don't want to see you here!" He paused here to look over at Harry who was watching the entire scene with a curious look on his face.**

"He isn't going to interfere?" Ron looked scandalised.

"No. His very presence is interference enough. If he remains silent, the Dark Lord may even allow me to come back over." Draco muttered.

"How do you know that?" Tonks inquired her cousin.

"Experience. It's happened before."

**"You may come here only when Harry wishes you to be here, otherwise stay away. Understand!"**

Draco raised his eyebrows as if to say, 'see?'.

**"Y-yes M-master." Draco managed to stutter out before hastily leaving, not even looking back to see Harry glaring at Lord Voldemort.**

Draco smiled. "So he does defend me then." He shrugged at the curious looks he received. "What? I always thought he didn't care, found it funny or something. Good to know that's not the case."

"How come you didn't know he cared?" Lily asked.

"Harrys a hell of an actor." Draco laughed, relieved that his mate really did care about what happened to him.

**Once Draco had disappeared from view, Lord Voldemort turned towards the dark haired boy to see him glaring at him. Harry never disrespected his father in front of company; he always waited until they were alone to do that.**

"Well, at least now I know why he never did it in front of me."

"He's very respectful of Voldemort's authority." The Headmaster mused. "That could be an issue we must address when extracting Harry from Toms care, and removing any prejudice opinions Tom has wormed into Mr Potters mind."

"Right." Fred said, awkwardly clearing his throat. "I'll just, continue then, shall I?" Without waiting for a response, he forged onwards.

**"What?" asked Lord Voldemort as Harry continued to give him an icy glare.**

**"I don't treat your friends that way." Harry said, eyes still locked with ruby red ones.**

"He has friends?" Sirius exclaimed, disbelieving.

**"That is because I have no friends,**

"Oh."

**I have no need for them and neither do you, especially no-good cowards like that young Malfoy."**

"Everyone needs friends, don't you dare deny my son that right!" James hissed.

'Why the hell do you care?' Draco thought, momentarily taken aback. 'He must be acting, keeping up appearances for the sake of those who don't know the truth.'

**Harry folded his arms around his chest and looked at his father.**

**"I don't _need_ Malfoy but it is nice to talk to someone who isn't _decades_ older than me!"**

"Gee, glad to know I'm wanted."

"He didn't say he doesn't _want_ you dear, just that he doesn't _need_ you." Molly gently explained.

"Thanks." Draco smiled a little, surprised by the amount of care in her voice. She sounded like she genuinely cared about his feelings, and wanted to make him happier.

**Lord Voldemort smiled at Harry's comment and walked over to him. He placed his hands on both of Harry's shoulders and for a moment just stood over him. Harry looked up into his father's face and felt some of his anger fade away. 'He always does that with one look' thought Harry as he looked into his father's face.**

James winced and Lily chewed on her lip.

**"Why do you have a problem with Draco?" asked Harry in a more hushed tone.**

**"I don't have any problems with him. I just don't think he is worthy of being in close company with you. I don't like the disrespectful way he talks to you."**

"Its not disprespectful, its having a laugh!" Sirius suddenly felt very defensive of his relative. Said relative was very surprised by the protectiveness in Sirius' tone.

**Lord Voldemort had overheard many conversations to know the way Draco Malfoy had talked to Harry. How he teased and sometimes even ridiculed him. It took everything Voldemort had, and Harry's intervention, to ensure that Draco Malfoy still had all limbs intact.**

"True." Draco nodded, once again missing the concerned looks being thrown his way. Molly had to resist the urge to shake him, and explain that there was nothing even remotely right about the way Voldemort treated him, so could he stop acting so damn casual about it! She took a shaky breath, before nodding to her concerned son to keep reading.

**"Well, that's between me and Draco." Harry sighed, he was getting tired of arguing with his father.**

"Do they argue a lot?" James asked.

"I only know of the times Harry has told me about, so I really don't know." Draco explained. 'Like the time he found out Harry was sneaking off to fight muggles...' he thought, wincing when he remembered it was his fault the Dark Lord found out.

**"Anyway, what are you doing out here? Is the meeting over?" Harry asked.**

**"Yes, it's over. I was expecting you to be back in the Manor by this time. I wanted to see where you were. Now I see why you were held back." Voldemort said, looking in the direction Draco had run off in.**

"They only met a few minutes ago." Tonks hissed, joining Sirius in the 'lets defend our youngest relative who happens to be Harrys best friend and coincidentally very important in getting Harry back' campaign.

**"I only met him a few minutes before you came. I lost track of time in training." Harry answered.**

**Voldemort looked at Harry closely.**

**"You've been training a lot more these days." He commented.**

**Harry shrugged his shoulders.**

**"It doesn't hurt to be more prepared."**

**Voldemort didn't comment but walked Harry back to Riddle Manor.**

"I hate hearing about their relationship, they seem so close." Lily whispered to her husband, who nodded sadly.

**xxx**

**It was late in the evening and most of the members of the Order**

"Whoa scene change." Damien didn't know wether to be disappointed that he wasn't going to hear about his brother anymore, or relieved that he wouldn't have to learn more about to said brothers loyalty to Voldemort.

**wanted nothing more than to go home. Lily sat again with James on one side and Sirius on the other.**

James and Sirius grinned at each other. They had always sat in those positions in Order meetings, in order to comfort and protect Lily. It was good to know she was still oblivious as to their reasoning behind it.

**James had been released a week ago now and had already resumed his post as Auror.**

'Of course he did,' Lily thought fondly. 'Nothing can keep him from that job.'

**She thanked all her Gods that James was okay. Thankfully there was no scarring, otherwise James would have had an ugly scar running from below his left ear all the way to the back of his neck, where the blade had cut him. She was brought out of her thoughts as Dumbledore stood up to start the meeting.**

Draco sat up, interested to learn as much about the Order of the Phoenix as he could. He was determined to tell Harry everything so that Voldemort's supporters could gain an advantage.

**Albus Dumbledore took his position in front of the tired looking group of people.**

**"Thank you all for coming." He started. He looked at the faces sitting before him before looking at James, Sirius and Kingsley. "It's true." He stated simply. "Voldemort has an heir."**

Everyone in the Order sighed at this, knowing that their future selves wouldn't take the news well.

**The atmosphere in the room changed almost instantly. Surprised gasps were echoed as were distressed sighs. James looked at Lily and tried to give her a small smile, to comfort her. It didn't work.**

Just as the one he gave her now failed as well.

**"How is this possible? How can no one know of his existence until now?" McGonagall asked.**

"Because he was hidden away, and forced to keep his identity a secret." McGonagall sadly answered her future self's question.

**"I don't know, Minerva but Severus has confirmed to me that the boy who killed Larry Hunt was in fact Voldemort's son. His true name is not known and so he is referred to as the Dark Prince." Dumbledore replied.**

**"I can't believe Voldemort managed to keep him a secret. This is just unbelievable." Tonks commented, shock written on her face.**

"Yeah!" Tonks agreed. "I mean, keeping him secret from all of his followers can't have been easy!"

**"I believe that Voldemort kept him a secret from his own men. He was revealed to the Death Eaters only two years ago.**

"Then how come Snape didn't tell us about him?!" James demanded, looking rightfully furious with his childhood nemesis. "If this is some kind of petty payback, then I swear-"

"Honestly Potter, it's because I didn't know myself. I wasn't invited to the meeting, another sign that I don't have the Dark Lords full trust." Snape sneered.

James seemed content with that explanation, however Draco was shocked. Did that mean that his godfathers true loyalties lied with Dumbledore, and he was faking loyalty to the Dark Lord?

"You must have learnt about him after!" Sirius shot at Snape.

"Rumours I believed false-" Snape was cut off by Dumbledore this time.

"Severus you must report these things, wether you believe them false or not." Snape nodded once before looking away, frustrated.

**Even now, no one has seen his face or knows his real name. Only the Death Eaters that are trusted and close to Voldemort have met with his son." Dumbledore said.**

"Like Bella and Malfoy." Sirius stated.

**"How come Snape didn't tell us about him?!" James asked at once.**

**"Because, Potter, I wasn't part of the meeting when he was revealed!" Snape answered back icily.**

**"You must have learnt about him afterwards." Sirius added in.**

**"There are many rumours floating around in that place. I didn't want to say anything until I saw anything with my own eyes." Snape curtly responded.**

There were a few titters at the conversation in the book that was so similar to the one held moments before.

**"So he's the one who has been killing all those Death Eaters? You were right. The Dark Prince has been killing on Voldemort's orders." Arthur Weasley asked.**

Many winced, hating the truth in that statement.

**Dumbledore looked at Snape before answering.**

**"It seems that the Death Eaters found murdered in their homes had misgivings with Voldemort. It seems that Voldemort sends his son out to carry out what he likes to call 'assignments' and gets rid of those he feels are threatening him or are in his way."**

Lily shivered. Her boy was raised to kill.

**Lily felt a shiver run up her spine. What a way for a child to be brought up.**

**"Do you know what age he is? Has he come of age yet?" Molly asked.**

"No which means..." James trailed off, reluctant to finish his thought. Moody had no such problem, gruffly clarifying,

"It means that Potter can only grow more powerful, and dangerous."

"We need to get him as far away from Voldemort as possible before he comes of age." McGonagall shakily said. "Who knows what that boy will be able to do by then."

**"We can't be certain but I think he is still under the age of seventeen. This is based on the information we have been able to gather." Here he gave Snape another appreciative nod before continuing.**

**"He works alone. That is why he was never seen during a raid. He doesn't work alongside the Death Eaters. There has only been one instance where he was with a team of Death Eaters." Dumbledore faltered here and it took him a moment to gather his words.**

"What?" Lily said. "But Harry said that he only ever works alone?"

"I don't know." James shrugged. "Maybe when he was younger he needed protection?"

**"It has been revealed that the Dark Prince was with the Death Eaters when they attacked the Longbottoms."**

"No." Lily gasped. Molly raised a shaky hand to cover her mouth and McGonagall paled. Tonks looked shocked, and their were tears forming in her eyes as she thought of the two people who she had always looked up to in the Order.

**Lily gasped out loud as did most of the room. She looked over at the two empty seats directly in front of her. Everyone in the room was looking in that direction as well.**

"Oh Merlin, James..." Lily reached out a shaky hand to her husband, who gripped it like his life depended on it. He was praying to every god that he had ever heard of that Harry was only there, that he didn't do more...

**"The Dark Prince was the one who tortured and killed the Longbottoms. He set them and their house on fire using a magical fire that killed them slowly, allowing them to be…burnt alive." Dumbledore stopped as he couldn't go on.**

Lily burst into tears. James and Damien had tears silently slipping down their faces. The Order members looked like they had been slapped, even Dumbledore and Snape were pale as ghosts. The children looked like they couldn't believe it, couldn't believe that Harry, someone around their age could possibly do such a horrendous deed...

"Brainwashed he was-"

"Oh Merlin-"

"Twisted, cruel act-"

"Made Harry do it, he did-"

"Possibly-"

"He's just a _boy_ -"

"Oh Merlin, Alice and Frank, he killed-"

"Didn't just kill, _tortured_ them-"

"He didn't want to, surely-"

"Must have been forced to, must have been!"

Moodys reaction was the worst. While others frantically tried to convince themselves of Harrys innocence, he didn't bother.

"He's a _monster_." He hissed.

"We know, Voldemort is a vile, disgusting creature, twisting Harry's heart, making him do that-" Molly started.

"Not Voldemort." He turned to James and Lily, "Your boys a monster."

"Alastor, please-"

"NO!" He roared, cutting Dumbledore off. "YOU CANT DEFEND HIM! HE KILLED THEM! HE TORTURED AND KILLED FRANK AND ALICE! HE'S A MONSTER! JUST LIKE THE ONE HE CALLS FATHER! YOU CAN PRETEND HE CAN BE FIXED ALL YOU WANT DUMBLEDORE BUT THIS!" He shook his head, pointing to the book, "THIS PROVES THAT HE'S BEYOND REDEMPTION! HE'S A COLD BLOODED KILLER, WHO'S MORE LIKELY TO SLAUGHTER EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM AS HE IS TO JOIN US! AND I DON'T WANT HIM! I DON'T WANT HIM NEAR ME! YOU CAN ALL ACCEPT HIM IF YOU BLOODY WELL WANT BUT I WON'T!" He sat down heavily, and a tear slid down his scarred face. "Alice was like a daughter to me, and that, that _thing_ killed her."

"Alastor-"

"Don't." This time it was Lily who cut Dumbledore off. She turned to Moody. "They were my friends, and to learn that my son killed them," she sobbed, before continuing shakily, "I-it kills me. Kills me. But I can't turn my back on him. I can't just not try to bring him back, he's my son, my baby boy, and I want him beside me. I _need_ him back." She took a shaky breath, before continuing, fire in her eyes, "and what he has done is unforgivable, but so help me if you hurt my boy, you will pay."

"I'm not going to hurt him, I'm going to kill him."

Draco smiled, and was seen by Moody. "What you laughing at, boy?"

"You try to kill Harry, and he will kill you."

"I've taken down wizards tougher than him." Moody sneered.

"I've seen him duel Voldemort and win." Draco shrugged as people gaped.

"Alastor, Harry is important. We cannot win without him. I beg of you to put revenge aside, and-"

"I'm sorry, Albus, but this time you ask to much." Moody grimly looked down. "This boy is just another animal I'm going to put down."

Silence followed his promise.

After a while, Fred began to read, causing a few to jump at the sudden sound of his voice.

**The tension in the room had become unbearable.**

'Just like it is now.' Draco thought. 'I have to warn Harry to look out for Moody.' He didn't think to mention Lily Potters oddly protective behaviour, as he believed her to be acting for the sake of maintaining the image of a caring mother.

 **Suddenly every** **Auror had forgotten about Voldemort and his Death Eaters. They wanted the Dark Prince, to make him pay for the atrocious attack he had made on the Longbottoms.**

After a moments hesitation, the majority (minus Moody) decided that this wasn't what they wanted. They knew that Harry had to be punished, to be educated on his wrongdoings, to be made to feel guilty, but they still placed their blame on the one who raised him to kill, who brainwashed him from a young age. They still blamed Voldemort.

**Frank had been a fellow Auror and his wife Alice had also been a member of the Order. Their deaths had affected them all and now that they knew who was directly responsible, they would do anything to bring their killer to justice.**

"And we will." Dumbledore said. "But he shall not be killed, nor physically punished." He turned to James and Lily, "with your permission, perhaps a few months in the Ministry prison."

"Yes." James said. "I think that would be for the best." Lily nodded in agreements, although she wasn't happy about it.

**Lily fought the sob that was threatening to overtake her as she grabbed onto James' hand. Frank had been a good friend of James. When Harry had gone missing fifteen years ago, Frank and Alice had been there for her and James.**

"Oh Harry, why?" Lily cried, clutching onto her husband as Fred continued to read.

**They were good people and did not deserve to suffer such an ill fate. The fire had taken 48 hours to put out and in the end there was nothing left of the bodies but ashes.**

**"I know that this news is upsetting but we have to focus on what we have before us. This is a chance. If we can apprehend the Dark Prince then we can eliminate a good part of Voldemort's confidence. With the Dark Prince under arrest, we can easily get to Voldemort." Dumbledore explained.**

"That's true. Why didn't we think of that?" Tonks muttered to Kingsley.

"We were too focused on getting Harry back, we didn't think about strategic advantages it could have." He replied.

**At this point, Kingsley stood up.**

**"I am sorry to say this but we have not even been able to hurt him, let alone capture him. The boy is unpredictable. He uses spells that we have never even heard of. I don't think we can plan his capture."**

"How do we do it then?" James asked.

"See what future us does, and improve on it?" Sirius suggested.

**The atmosphere in the room was already solemn and at Kingsley's words it plunged another couple of notches down.**

**"Our only option is to study the boy. We can learn a lot from the way he battles." Moody said, giving his solution to the problem.**

**James stood up so that every eye was now on him.**

**"See, I think that's a problem. We don't have time on our side."**

**Everyone stared at James as he made this revelation.**

**"What do you mean 'we have no time' Potter!" snapped Snape.**

"Oh piss of Snivellus." Sirius muttered.

**Sirius growled a little at him but Lily quietened him by placing a hand on his arm.**

**"What I mean is simple, we have no time to study him, this boy is simply wiping the floor with us and he is not even seventeen yet. He only has the usual one third of his powers. If we don't capture him now then…well can you imagine what he will be like when he comes of age and gets his full powers?"**

Bill whistled.

"Powerful?" Ron guessed.

"Very." Hermione clarified.

**James' words took their effect as everyone had a look of pure terror and dread on their face.**

**"We need to know more information about him. We have to know what his weakness is, since everyone has at least one." Dumbledore said, as he eyed the Order's spy, Severus Snape.**

"What could his be?" Ginny asked.

"Loyalty." Hermione said. She blushed as everyone looked at her. "Well, he's loyal to those who raised him, maybe that could be used against him?"

"Maybe." Sirius said, starting to get an idea.

**Snape looked at the Headmaster and felt that this was the time to report on his findings. He stood up so that everyone had turned their attention to him.**

**"Well I think that everyone must realise his most obvious one, the Dark Lord." He paused to listen to the collective intake of breath. He continued. "I have found that the Dark Lord and the Dark Prince share a very close relationship. I have never seen the Dark Lord react to anyone the way he reacts to his son. Even the Dark Prince seems to be really connected to his father. He would gladly sacrifice himself if the Dark Lord asked him to."**

"What are the chances we can ask Voldy to do that?" Sirius piped up. A few people chuckled nervously.

**At these words, Sirius spoke up.**

**"What are the chances that we can ask You-Know-Who to do just that?"**

The repetition of this joke caused a few to laugh. (Fred, George, Damien and Ron)

**Lily looked at him sharply, honestly he had no sense at all.**

"Hey." Sirius pretended to look offended, holding a hand over his heart dramatically. "You wound me Lily-flower."

**"However" Snape continued after sending Sirius a glare. "I have found out that he is quite close to another one person. Bellatrix Lestrange." he looked straight into Sirius' eyes as he said the name of his cousin.**

**Sirius' eyes darkened and a blush crept up onto his cheeks.**

Sirius blushed as everyone stared at him. He missed Bellatrix, and wished she had of come with him instead.

**He and Bella had been very close when growing up but as they became young adults, Bella fell into the Black family's tradition, and took the Dark Mark. Sirius had to literally flee his home in order to save his life from his own family.**

"You did?" Damien looked at Sirius.

"Yeah Pup. They weren't nice people." Sirius sighed sadly.

"Where did you go?" The boy questioned.

"To your dads, of course. I was always welcome at the Potters."

"And you always will be." James whispered to him as Fred continued reading.

**James looked over at his best friend and noticed his jaw clenched and his fists in tight balls. He glared back at Snape. 'He could have worded that differently' he thought. 'Slimy git!'**

Snape glared at James but didn't say anything.

**Snape had a satisfied smirk on his face.**

**"It turns out that Bellatrix has brought up the boy and cares a great deal about him. Although the boy shows resistance to her, he secretly cares about her too. I had to spend considerable time as a certain inner circle Death Eater to get this information."**

**Snape paled slightly as the memory of being Lucius Malfoy came back to him. He had used up the whole supply of Polyjuice potion for that.**

Draco scowled. 'So he isn't loyal.' He thought, making note to tell Harry.

**"So you're saying that in order to get to the boy we have to either get to You-know-who or Bellatrix Lestrange?" asked Kingsley Shacklebolt a little sarcastically.**

"Kingsley is incapable of sarcasm." Snorted Tonks. Remus laughed a little louder than most at that, turning pink at the knowing looks James and Sirius gave him.

**Snape only responded by sending an icy glare his way and sat down. Albus Dumbledore looked sadly at the room full of defeated faces.**

**Sirius rounded on Snape again.**

**"How come you never saw the boy's face, I mean he can't walk around all day and night wearing that awful mask?"**

**"I didn't go anywhere near the boy. He would have surely been able to realise what was going on as he is very close to Malfoy!" Snape answered in a much clipped tone.**

'Damn right he would.' Draco furiously thought.

**"Thank you Severus. I know how hard this must have been for you to find out this information. Now we must come up with a foolproof plan."**

"Easier said than done." Arthur muttered.

**Slowly the room began to formulate plans on what they could do and how they would manage to trick Lord Voldemort's prodigy into capture.**

**Sirius slowly lifted himself from his chair and stood up. He looked directly at Albus Dumbledore.**

**"I have an idea." he said slowly, everyone had turned to stare at him.**

**"But I don't think you're going to like it."**

Sirius shrugged at the curious looks he received. "Hey, it's the future, I don't know." Truthfully he had an idea of what future him was planning, but he decided to keep it to himself.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (1)
> 
> Harry,
> 
> I write to you to inform you about an interesting, and exciting, turn of events in an otherwise boring day. Earlier I was summoned into a room like no other, in order to read a book. But this book, Harry it's about you! The other occupants in this room are miserable and not worth my time, or yours, however the disasters you have the misfortune of calling your biological parents are also here. I swear I shall endeavour to keep you informed as to what is happening, however I plead that you do not inform the Dark Lord about this, not yet anyway.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Draco


	9. Chapter Nine: We Got Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story, and please check out my new one. It's Supernatural, called 'Demon Child' and is inspired by the Darkness Within, but won't be a rip-off, I swear.
> 
> *I made this up. It's cheesy, but I thought it fits.

Hermione grabbed the book from Fred and scanned her eyes over the title, gasping aloud as she did.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, concern showing on his face. "'Mione what's wrong?" He added, as Hermione stared at the book, a slow smile spreading over her face.

  
"Nothing Ron, nothing wrong. It's just- well listen would you?" The beaming girl replied, reading the chapter title aloud. **"We Got Him".** Silence, for one, two, three seconds, before the room erupted into raucous applause.

The Weasley twins were chanting 'We got Potter, we got Potter!' over and over as Ron clapped his hand onto a grinning Damien's shoulder.

Ginny giggled at the stunned looks on the Marauders face's, she could have sworn she heard Remus mutter something about not believing a plan Sirius had come up with actually worked. Lily had tears of joy in her eyes, and was hugging an overjoyed Molly Weasley.

Hermione allowed the room a moment to absorb the news, before clearing her throat. No one payed her any mind, however, prompting McGonagall to clear her own. The effect was instantaneous, everyone snapping to attention immediately as a sly smirk appeared on the Gryffindor's face. Hermione smiled at her Head of House, and began reading.

 **Harry was not having a good day.  
**  
Damien pouted sarcastically, "poor baby." Ron laughed while Ginny frowned disapprovingly.

"That's not nice Damy, you don't know what could have happened."

"Awww stuff it Ginny. You're only defending him 'cause you have a crush on him." Ginny scowled, crossing her arms. She didn't deny anything, something that caused Hermione to shoot her younger friend a concerned look. Could Ginny really have a crush on a boy she hadn't even properly met yet?

 **He had woken up to a splitting headache,  
**  
Ginny smirked at a regretful looking Damien. Lily clutched tight to her husbands hand in worry, not letting up as he winced in pain.

 **thanks to some Death Eater who had delivered some unfortunate news to his father.  
**  
'Interesting.' Dumbledore thought. 'Perhaps... no it can't be.' Yet even as the old man denied it, the thought crawled into his mind, dwelling like a dark shadow on his thoughts. 'Neither can live while the other survives."

 **He then had spent most of the morning looking for Bella only to be told that she had gone on a raid.  
**  
Lily was noticeably upset by this information, to the surprise of none. James squeezed her hand, but she just shook her head and muttered something about being jealous of the relationship Harry shared with the Death Eater.

 **"Typical" he said under his breath.  
**  
 **It was getting colder now as it was approaching the middle of August. Harry pulled on the sleeves of his robes to cover his hands as he set off towards the middle of the grounds. His silver mask was sitting in the inside pocket of his robes.  
**  
"He really carries it everywhere?" Bill asked in disbelief. Draco rolled his eyes at the eldest Weasley child, causing him to turn the signature Weasley red.

 **Most of the Death Eaters had gone to this raid, which was probably ordered by his father, after hearing whatever the disturbing news was that had awoken Harry.  
**  
"Right." Tonks said, "Middle of August, there's gonna be a Death Eater raid." She scribbled this information down on a parchment she had conjured, before frowning, "of course we still don't know the exact date, nor where it's going to be..."

"It's still more information than we had." Kingsley reassured her. Draco frowned. 'Right,' he thought, 'middle of August, there won't be a Death Eater raid, not after I tell Harry 'bout this.' Smirking, he rearranged himself into a more comfortable posture, and settled down to listen.

**Harry walked steadily on towards his training grounds. He was feeling quite aggressive after the lousy morning that he'd had and wanted to vent some of this anger away by training.**

"Someone's got anger issues." Damien muttered.

 **However he had not even reached the training grounds when a sound alerted him. It was a slithering sound. The leaves on the ground were slightly crunching as if someone or rather something was sliding over them. Harry knew instinctively what this was. He turned around slowly to see a huge snake slithering towards him.  
**  
 **"Nagini" he hissed in Parseltongue.  
**  
James laughed. "Very funny Hermione." He said, "now read what it actually says."

"That's what is says." Hermione insisted, _""Nagini" he hissed in Parseltongue."_

"It can't say that. Harry couldn't possibly speak... Parseltongue!" Lily denied, shaking her head.

"Yes he can." Came the predictable drawl form the blond boy on the couch. "Tried to get him to teach me some, but I wasn't very good." He smiled at the uncomfortable looks on their faces, knowing that the idea of their 'Golden Gryffindor' Potter boy being anything but. "Honestly," he couldn't resist adding, "I don't know why that surprises you, what did you expect from the Dark Lords son?"

James lurched forward in his seat, focusing his gaze on the Malfoy heir. "He's not Voldemort's son," he hissed, infuriated when the boy only raised an eyebrow in response.

**"Young Master." she hissed back at him.**

**Harry walked over to the huge snake and gently stroked her head. He was really fond of her.  
**  
The Gryffindor students gagged in disgust, even Ginny looked put off by her saviour's fondness of the animal.

 **Nearly as much as Lord Voldemort himself. He had promised Harry that when he turned seventeen he would get Harry a similar snake.  
**  
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen." Remus shook his head, "Your parents are never going to allow a snake in their house."

"Then where's Potter going to sleep, once he's been caught?" The snide comment came, to the surprise of many, from Charlie Weasley. He shrugged at the glares he received. "What? Some of us are not so quick to forgive."

**'Just one more year to go' thought Harry as he continued to stroke Nagini. He had just turned sixteen a fortnight ago, but as usual it was not celebrated. The only birthday of Harry's that would be celebrated would be when he came of age, seventeen.**

Ron's mouth was gaping. "No presents?!" He exclaimed, looking just as scandalised as the other children felt.

"They didn't even celebrate any of his birthdays Ron." Hermione said when she was able to speak again. "It's worse than just not getting presents, it's not being acknowledged."

"We'll change that though, won't we?" Damien demanded, looking at his parents.

"Of course we will!" Lily exclaimed, thinking of all the presents she and James had bought Harry over the years. 'Just you wait' she thought, 'we'll make it up to you, Harry.'

**Harry looked at the giant head of the reptile and asked again in Paseltongue.**

**"What are you doing here? You usually don't go anywhere until nightfall."**

**"I got bored so I was going to get myself a small…snack!" she hissed at him.**

**Harry grimaced slightly, he knew that a small snack for Nagini was usually a very big thing by normal standards. Nagini was responsible for the disappearances of most farm animals such as horses, cows, and a few sheep that were near by. She had even got herself a few humans many times, but Harry chose not to think about that right now.**

"So, he feels sickened by actions that usually please Death Eaters," Snape announced to the room. Lily and James looked proud, happy that their son didn't feel pleasure at the snakes actions.

**Before he could say anything more to Nagini he felt a searing pain in his scar. His hand found its way to his forehead instinctively and Harry was momentarily blinded by the white hot pain that had erupted in his head. He blinked away the spots he was seeing and turned in the direction of the manor.**   
**While the majority of the room looked concerned that Harry's scar was hurting him, Dumbledore only looked curious. The lines from the Prophecy kept running through his mind, and he pondered the significance of Harry's scar.**   
**"Wonder what's wrong now?" he muttered to himself.**

**He turned to Nagini and hissed his goodbyes and set off towards the castle. The pain had gone as fast as it had come. There was the dull throbbing that Harry had gotten used to,**

"He shouldn't have to be used to it!" The unusually quiet Ginny exploded, to nods from those most concerned with Harry's safety.

**since Lord Voldemort was very rarely in a completely happy mood. He didn't stop once, until he approached the doors leading to his father's room. He knocked once and entered the room quietly.**

**Lord Voldemort looked up at the person who had entered his private chambers. He saw Harry and motioned for him to come closer. Voldemort stepped away from the window and turned to look at him.**

**"Harry, there's been a situation, I have just received a distress signal. It seems the raid this morning hasn't gone very well."**   
**Harry nodded once without taking his emerald green eyes away from his father's ruby red ones.**

**"Who was the signal from Father?" he asked.**

**"Bella" Voldemort almost whispered the word.**

**Harry felt like the air around him had vanished. He couldn't breathe.**

Many looked uncomfortable at the obvious affection Harry held for Lestrange.

**He looked at his father awaiting orders to go and help her, but they never came.**

"Good." Lily said, feeling a vicious dislike for the witch who held the position of mother figure in her sons life. Sirius, however, had caught onto his future self plan and was looking worried that it wouldn't go ahead.

**Lord Voldemort only looked at Harry and turned away, obviously fighting the anger building inside him, for Harry's sake.**

Scoffs were heard as many dismissed the thought of Voldemort caring for someone.

**"Father, what are your orders?" Harry pushed.**

**"Nothing, I don't want you to do anything."**

**Harry could only stare at his father's turned back.**   
**"But father, surely we have to do something…"**

**"Harry, as much as I want my inner circle back, especially Bella, I am not going to risk you in a rescue mission." Voldemort said, still with his back towards Harry.**

"Doesn't want to lose his most loyal soldier." Mad-Eye stated, to disapproving looks.

**Harry felt his own anger building.**

"Uh Oh." James said. "Looks like he's got your anger, Lily." His wife slapped him over the back of his head, but she couldn't hold back her smile at the comparison.

**"Father, we can't lose the inner circle either, it will take too long to build up again, and Bella…we can't lose her either."**

**Harry said the last part quietly. The mere thought of losing Bella was too much for him to even fathom. Voldemort turned around to face Harry at this. He also looked as if he was torn between trying to save his follower Bella or keeping his son out of harms way. He personally didn't care about Bella or any other Death Eater in particular, but Harry was right. If he lost his inner circle now it would cause all sorts of problems, not to mention the delay in winning the war. He sighed deeply and locked his eyes with Harry's sending him the visual location of the raid.**

The rooms occupants groaned, distressed at the obvious trust Harry had for Voldemort, to so readily allow him access to his mind.

**Harry took in the detail and turned around sharply, and almost ran to the door.**

  
**"Harry!" Lord Voldemort called out after him.**

  
**Harry stopped at the door and spun around.**

  
**"Just take her and come back immediately, Understand!"**

  
**"Yes Father." was Harry's reply and then he quickly made his way to the apparation point just outside the main door.  
**   
**xxx  
**   
**Harry apparated in front of a crumbling building. He quickly scanned the surrounding area. There was evidence of battle everywhere. He could make out the blood just at the entrance. He made his way into the abandoned building, which may have been a warehouse at some point, but now was nothing more than a crumbling wreck.**   
**With his mask firmly in place Harry entered the building. He walked in cautiously, even though it seemed that the place was empty. He could hear voices shouting in the distance, maybe on the upper floor of the destroyed building. He kept to the shadows and quietly made his way to the stairs. Once he reached the top he saw that the battle indeed was still going on. There were bodies lying, scattered everywhere. Most of them were masked Death Eaters. Harry cursed under his breath. He quickly crossed the room and hid near the collapsed wall. His emerald eyes were searching the floor for the form of Bella. He noticed that he could hear curses being uttered and the flashes as the spells were being fired but he couldn't actually see anyone around.**

Realisation dawned on the faces of the adults, as they understood that this must be a trap. The children were still oblivious, tense as they wondered what was going to happen.

**'They must be behind the ruins' Harry thought as he surveyed the mountains of rumble and rocks lying everywhere.**

'That's uncharacteristically reckless.' Kingsley thought, frowning.

**Harry threw caution to the wind and moved away from his hiding area. He saw Bella instantly. She was lying in the corner of the building. Her robes were ripped and blood streaked her usually pretty face. Harry felt the anger inside him bubble. He was shaking from suppressed rage. He got up quietly and made his way to the fallen body.**

**He reached her without anyone realising. He knelt down beside her and gently placed a finger on her neck. 'Please don't be dead!' he whispered to himself. He felt the pulse and breathed out a huge sigh of relief.**

**"Bella" he whispered as he tried to wake her up. Bella opened her eyes and to Harry's surprise gave him a wide grin.**

**"Hey gorgeous!"**

"Sirius." Lily laughed at her husbands best friend. He grinned and bowed.

"Well, I guess this was part of your plan then?" Damien inquired, smiling at the marauder.

"Naturally." Sirius said, smirking.

**Harry whipped away from the body. The face was Bella's but the voice was that of a man.**

"Are you sure Harry?" James asked. "Sirius can be quite a girl-" He was cut off by an annoyed 'OI!' as Sirius punched him in the arm. James laughed it off along with Remus and the children.

**A voice Harry had heard many times.**

"What?" James was suddenly serious again. He turned to accuse Sirius, "but you didn't know Harry was alive, did you?"

"No!" Sirius sat up straight, "Prongs, if I had known do you think for a minute I would have kept it from you?"

"No," of this James looked certain, "But then-"

"I don't know how he recognised me, mate. But maybe we will find out."

**The 'fake' Bella sat up and smiled at the look of shock on Harry's face. Harry stood up, but before he could raise his wand he noticed that all the voices that had been shouting curses had now stopped and he was completely surrounded by the previously fallen bodies.**

"That's quite the trap, cousin mine." Tonks grinned at Sirius who winked back.

**xxx**

**Lord Voldemort sat on his throne. He had Nagini next to him but he was ignoring her at the moment. He sat massaging his temples, eyes closed, repeating a silent mantra to calm himself down. Trying to concentrate all the anger he was feeling away from him. His concentration was broken by the sound of his door being knocked on and the sound of many voices.**

"Uh oh." Tonks looked worried. "He's about to find out it's a trap."

**With a sweep of his hand he opened his doors and sat shocked as the entire inner circle came through. They were all wearing triumphant looks and were smiling at their Dark Lord. None of them looked even remotely hurt. As they all knelt before him his gaze fell on the Death Eater nearest to him.**

**His only female Death Eater smiled at him as she stood up to greet him.**

**"Master, the raid was a complete success. We now have the…"she broke off as she noticed her master looking at her with disbelief.**

**"My Lord!" she gasped as Voldemort had stood up and appeared in front of her in a flash. He stood looming over her.**

**Voldemort stared into Bella's eyes and realised with a sick jolt that he had been fooled. Bella had not sent out the distress signal. There had been no complications. He had sent Harry into a trap!**

"Oh damn." Fred swore quietly so his mother wouldn't hear, his twin nodding in agreement.

**"No…no! Harry!" whispered Voldemort. He took a step back and then without warning he lunged forward and grabbed Bella around the arms and shook her like a rag doll.**

**"Get him back! Get Harry back now!" he snarled at her.**

**Bella could only nod her head as terror gripped at her. She saw the images flash before her as Lord Voldemort entered her mind and showed her how Harry had left to allegedly 'save her'.**

**She turned and wordlessly ordered the rest of the inner circle to follow her. She and Lucius led the way out of the chamber.**

**Lord Voldemort stood and watched, all the while channelling his anger away from him. If Harry ever needed total concentration it was now.**

"He won't be able to fight his way out of this one." Moody snarled. "We'll take him down easily."

"Don't be so sure." Draco smirked. Refusing to elaborate, he, for once, gave Hermione his full concentration, hanging onto her every word. He didn't want to miss a single detail of the fight that was to come.

**xxx**

**Harry looked around him and saw at least ten Aurors surrounding him, their wands pointing directly at him. Most of them had removed the Death Eater masks and black robes to reveal their Auror robes as Harry realised that he had been fooled by the bodies on the ground. The 'fake' Bella laughed a bark like laugh. Harry felt his insides burn with anger.**

Sirius looked very hurt by Harry's reaction.

**Before his very eyes the face and body of Bella changed slowly into the tall dark Sirius Black.**

**Harry could only glare at him as the famous Auror shook his dark locks out of his eyes and gave Harry another wide grin.**

**"Well Prince, nice to see that you turned up, I thought I was going to have to dress like my dear old cousin for the rest of the day."**

"Yuck." Tonks stuck her tongue out, sticking her nose up in the air. Literally. To the amusement of Ginny and Hermione, she morphed her nose so the point was sticking quite far up in the air.

**He took out his wand and pointed directly at Harry's chest.**

**"Now, be a good boy and put your hands where we can see them."**

**Harry ignored him and instead twisted his body around to show that he was surveying the surrounding Aurors.**

**"Well, eleven against one. Never thought you had it in you." he said to Sirius in a mocking voice. He saw with pleasure a few faces turn red and their wands shook slightly.**

Kingsley sighed at the lack of control. It was disappointing that a simple statement like that could get to so many.

**Harry smiled to himself. He was slowly making his concealed second wand move down his arm towards his hand.**

"He has two wands?" Damien cried.

"He can use two wands at once?" James squeaked.

**He was going to need it.**

**"So, care to explain how you did it?" Harry asked Sirius, to distract him while he non-verbally muttered the accio curse for his wand.**

Ron mouthed 'non-verbally' to himself in amazement.

**"How did I do what?" asked Sirius with an annoying look of triumph on his face.**

**Harry clenched his teeth in anger before hissing at him.  
**   
**"How did you fake Bella's distress call?"**

**"Oh that, well it's a piece of cake really, when you have this." he held up a small ring.**

**Harry looked at it closely and realised it was identical to the ring Bella had. Harry was confused for a moment but then, upon examining the ring again he understood what had happened.**

**The ring had the Black family crest on it. It was obviously given to Bella by her family. Harry knew that when a distress call was made it generally doesn't have much detail, since it is a distress call, so the person making it doesn't have much time to give a lot of detail. Usually the place and nature of distress is all that can be given. The identity of the caller is usually made by the registered wand or by an artefact with a distinguishing mark, such as a family crest, that the caller has with them at the time of making the call. Since Bella's wand is not registered, as are all of the Death Eaters wands, the ring would have been used to identify the caller. His father would not have expected Sirius to have the ring nor use it in this manner, so he had assumed the distress call to belong to Bella.**

"Interesting." Hermione interrupted herself to muse. "But, it is awfully easy to mimic isn't it? By distributing them throughout families, in the case of the ring, it's quite easy for traps to be set just like this one. What if the Death Eaters were to do the same thing, luring in Order members by pretending it's from Sirius? Obviously, if it's a registered wand it wouldn't work, but isn't your wand registered Sirius? And Harry just said that Bellatrix's isn't, so-"

"Hermione." Ron interrupted. "Can you just read, please?" Hermione blushed but nodded.

**"So you stole her ring. Can you stoop any lower Black?" Harry asked while enjoying the red blush creep onto the older man's cheeks.**

**"Actually, I didn't steal anything! This ring belongs to me. Being her cousin and all I got the ring as well, just didn't have a use for it until now." Sirius finished while glaring at the teen before him.**

**"And the Polyjuice potion?"**

**"Just happened to have some stock leftover. Glad I kept it from the last time I pretended to be her, that didn't work out as well as this though."**

"Something to say, Uncle Siri?" Damien cheekily asked. "You seem to spend an awful lot of time as a woman."

"Why you little-" Sirius leaped off the couch and made to grab Damien, only to be yanked back by Lily.

"Sirius," she started calmly, the man in her clutches gulping nervously. "I already have one son," she gestured at the book, "in imminent danger. I would appreciate it if you wouldn't harm my other one!" The last few words were hissed angrily as the man wriggled out of her grip.

"I wouldn't hurt Damy, Lils." Sirius defended. "Just, you know, make sure he didn't disrespect me again." He playfully sneered at the cheeky boy, who grinned in return Lily snorted and shook her head at him.

"Good luck achieving that, James and I have been trying for years!" The mother shook her head, giving Damien what could only be deemed as 'The Look.' Its one all children are familiar with, as their own mothers often aim it their way when they have caused trouble.

While many tittered at the families playful interaction, Draco interpreted in another way entirely. Believing the playful looks to be hiding truly sinister intentions, he felt sudden fear for the young Gryffindor that he had always found annoying. He scolded himself for never having considered that the Potters treated their youngest son the same way they treated their oldest, but all this talk about 'teaching respect' caused a thrill of fear run through him. He briefly flashed to a conversation he had had with Harry after the boy had made an offhand comment about broken bones being the most efficient way to learn a lesson. It was not one of his favourite memories, not only because the other boy refused to heal his broken arm until he explained that it was not how lessons were normally taught (he had fallen out of a tree Harry warned him not to climb), but because it was the day he first found out about the abuse Harry had suffered at the hands of the Potters. He remembered rushing home and telling his parents, how his Mother had glared at his Father, how his Father had taken him aside and told him that he could not, under any circumstances, act any different around the Potters, they cannot find out we know Draco! Understand? How he had said, yes Father, of course Father, and never spoken of it to anyone but Harry again, who he frequently expressed his disgust to.

Examining the boy sitting amongst friends, he wondered if the smile was merely a show, a mask to hide pain and fear. 'Harry must know of this,' the boy thought. Just as this crossed his mind, a crack sounded through the room. Everyone's heads swivelled as the House Elf appeared, and Draco internally groaned. Schooling his features into a blank mask, for he knew suspicious gazes would be turned to him, he glared at the Elf, hoping it wasn't stupid enough to give everything away.

The Elf, meanwhile, was trying to hide considerable panic. Not knowing what was going on in the room, it had to take a blind guess as to when would be the optimal time to apparate in without being seen. Looking at the wands now being pointed at it, it could tell that this was not that time.

"What are you doing here, Elf?" Kingsley said firmly, but not unkindly, pointing his wand at the terrified creature.

"Nothing, sir, I is doing nothing." The letter addressed to Draco felt like it was burning a hole in the pocket it was shoved into. The Elf's worried gaze briefly flickered to the blond Slytherin before it focused back onto the wands in its face. That brief look was enough for Moody, who whirled on the only person not standing.

"You!" he hissed, grabbing the boy by the scruff of the neck and dragging him to his feet. "This Elf yours boy?" He pointed at the quivering creature that was beginning to twist its ears in worry.

"No." Draco answered truthfully, raising an eyebrow in defiance.

"Liar."

"Not lying." 'For once' he mentally added. The Elf, unfortunately, chose this moment to step in.

"I is not answering to Master Draco, no I's is here by Master Harry's command, yes I is-"

"Silence!" Draco hissed at the creature, but he was too late. Lily lowered her wand, hand trembling, along with the rest of the room, except Moody.

"Harry?" James demanded. "Harry Potter?" He whirled around to Draco, "YOU!" He growled, jabbing a finger at the boy.

"Me?" Draco raised an eyebrow, appearing genuinely confused. Only his Head of House could tell the boy was hiding his smugness at the situation, and his fear.

"You've been talking to my son?!"

"Why in Merlins name would you think that?" Draco tilted his head. "Yes this is Harry's Elf, yes I am using it at the moment. But that is merely because he lent it to me over the break because I complained about having to share the ones working at Hogwarts with other students." The lie came easily, slipping off the boys tongue and rolling around the room.

"You really expect us to believe that?" Charlie growled, stepping closer to the boy.

"Yes. Its the truth. Isn't it?" He turned to the Elf pointedly, the creature frantically nodding it's agreement.

"Yes, yes it is, it is. I swears it!"

"What's that in your pocket?" Draco cursed. How could he not have noticed that Moody's magical eye was no longer whirring around the room, instead focused on the letter in the Elf's pocket.

"Nothing sir, nothing."

"Give it here."

"Sir I-"

"Hand it over!" The Elf handed the Auror the letter, ears flat against its head. The man ripped it open, scanning it's contents. He narrowed his eyes, confusion marring his scarred features. "This doesn't make any sense! It's written in some kind of Latin!"

"Perhaps Draco would be kind enough to translate?" The old Headmaster, who had been silent up to this point, smiled at Draco.

"I can't read Latin."

"I think we both know that's not quite true." The infuriating smile never left the old mans face, as he took the letter from Moody's hand and held it out to Draco. Reluctant now, Draco took the letter. For once he wished that it wasn't a letter from his friend. He didn't know how he was going to get out of this one, unless...

"Can't you read Latin, sir." He asked the Headmaster.

"I'm afraid it was one of the many things I never attempted to learn, a fact that now causes me great anguish. However, I have faith in your abilities. Now please," he inclined his head at the letter, "translate."

Draco was now the centre of attention, and for once he wished he wasn't. Clearing his throat, he drew on all his Slytherin abilities. He was going to need them to pull this off. He read through the letter, translating it I'm his head. His eyes widened as he read:

_Draco,_

_I pity you, stuck in a room of idiots. Reading about my life? You better not be lying to me, I will not be happy. Wouldn't want to lose my friendship Draco, it wouldn't bode well for you to run into Father absent of my support._   
_I will not inform Father, not yet. It's not the first secret I've kept from him, and it won't be the last. Make sure you keep me well informed, and stop using the bloody Elf! I nearly killed the damn thing when it apparated into my room. I've cast a spell on this parchment, it'll wipe itself clean after you've read it, so write your message onto it. I have a corresponding parchment, your message will appear on it as you write it. We can communicate this way, it's faster. And before you go about being too amazed at the idea, I merely modified what Muggles call 'texting'. Don't roll your eyes, just do it._

_Harry_

"It's from my Father," Draco said, watching as the parchment wiped itself clean. "He's merely informing me that I have permission to stay at Hogwarts over the Christmas break. That's what I asked him for in the first place." He turned to the Elf. "Your services are no longer required, return to you Master. But thank my Father first." The Elf bowed low and disapparated out of the room. Moody snatched the letter from Draco, hissing when he found it blank.

"What is this?" He waved the parchment in the boys face.

"Handy isn't it?" Draco drawled, plucking the parchment from the mans hand and smoothly depositing it into his pocket. "My Father began using it a few years ago. Wipes the parchment clean after the intended recipient has read it. Stops people from using his signature and such." He waved a hand dismissively, the lie coming easily once more.

"Severus, is this true?" Dumbledore asked his spy.

"Yes." Severus narrowed his gaze at the blond boy. "Yes it is. I helped Lucius perfect the spell." 'That's the second time I have supported your lies, Draco.' He thought.  
'When are you going to trust me?'

"And you didn't think to tell us?" Moody glared, still upset.

"Must have slipped my mind."

"So." A small voice interrupted. "It wasn't Harry?" All eyes turned to Damien, who looked quite upset.

"It would appear not." Severus drawled. "Shall we continue?"

Everyone reluctantly returned to their seats, James wrapping an arm around his upset wife, and Damien slumping down depressingly. Hermione began to read once more, Mad-Eyes magical eye never leaving a shifting Draco.

**Sirius now had moved a couple of steps towards Harry.**

**"Now that your questions are answered I think we should move onto the arrest, don't you?"**

**Harry didn't answer.**

**"Come now boy, don't try anything stupid. You know you can't take all of us!" Mad-eye Moody said while inching nearer to the boy.**

"Oh, I'm betting he can." No one needed to even look at the blond boy to know he was smirking.

**Harry turned to face him and felt his hand close around the wooden stick. He smiled again behind his mask.**

**"Can't I?" He mocked before whipping out the second wand.**

**Before anyone could react Harry pointed both wands at the ground and bellowed.**

**"MOMENTUM EXPUR!"**

**The entire ground suddenly shook as if an earthquake had hit it.**

"Wicked." The Weasley twins muttered, grinning.

**The Aurors were certainly not expecting that and most of them got knocked off their feet.**

"Well, they'll be expecting it this time!" Tonk chirped cheerfully, to nods.

 **James, Kingsley and Sirius were the only ones who managed to stay upright, although the shaking ground had meant that they could not point their wands at the boy standing before them.  
**  
"We should go in with a balancing charm already cast, keep us steady," Kingsley noted, Draco scowling furiously as his cousin scrawled it all down.

**They watched as the Dark Prince kept one wand on the ground sending waves of energy through the ground so that it kept shaking, while using the other wand to draw a circle around him.**

"You can't cast two spells at once! I don't care if he has two wands! It's impossible!" James cried, outraged and yet impressed at the same time. 'That's my boy!' he thought, glowing with pride at his sons capabilities.

**The wand was emitting a red beam and as the baffled Aurors watched, it cut a perfect circle in the ground. In front of their eyes the Dark Prince disappeared to the floor beneath. He had cut a hole in the ground and had made his way to the ground floor in three seconds flat!**

**The ground had stopped shaking and the eleven Aurors looked at each other in shock as they hastily got to their feet and jumped through the hole to the ground below. 'How on earth did he mutter two curses at the one time, that's impossible!' thought James**

Damien sniggered at that, looking at his smiling dad.

**as he fell to the ground floor. He scanned the ruined building and spotted the boy making his way towards the door. He was soon joined by the rest of his team and they started shouting curses at the boy.**

'Be careful, Harry.' Lily thought, biting her nails in worry.

**Harry threw himself behind debris of crumbling plaster. He leant against it and started to take out his ninja stars.**

"Crap." Sirius murmured.

**He placed his wand back in the upholster attached to his upper arm. He grabbed a hold of two stars and carefully moved so that he was in clear view of the Aurors. At once he was forced to duck back behind cover as a rain of red and yellow curses came flying his way. It had only taken a moment but Harry had seen the locations of two Aurors.**

"Cool," Damien said, not realising what this meant for the two men. Draco smiled, leaning back. He knew Harry wouldn't miss.

**He took a deep breath and flung himself away from the safety of the plaster and threw the blades in the direction of both of them. The blades hit the Aurors in the chest and the two men instantly fell to the ground, the blades embedded deep into their chests.**

"He killed them?" Hermione cried, outraged.

"Na." Sirius casually waved the suggestion off. Probably just winded them is all."

"Uncle Siri, they have blades imbedded in their chests. How could that not kill them!" Damien joined in, scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion.

"They'd be wearing the standard ROSO shirts* underneath their clothes of course." Sirius answered.

"The what?" Ron joined into the conversation, no longer content to just watch.

"R.O.S.O," Remus answered for his animagus friend. "ROSO shirts. Resistant Of Sharp Object shirts. Prevents wizards from being stabbed and such."

"Like a bullet proof vest?" Hermione inquired.

"Exactly." Lily answered the young girl, smiling warmly as the non-muggle born occupants looked on confused.

"A what?" Hermione ignored Ron, choosing instead to focus on the book.

**Harry barely made it back to the shelter of the crumbling plaster while more curses rained down on him.**

**He heard a cry amongst the Aurors.**

**"Don't do that! We need him alive, only stun him understand. Don't kill him!"**

**Harry recognised the voice belonging to James Potter.**

"Yes! Go dad!" Draco rolled his eyes at the boy, stroking the parchment in his pocket with a single finger as he pondered what he was going to write.

**Harry heard the footsteps inching closer to him and he knew that he wasn't going to be able to hide here for much longer. Harry's eyes darted around him, trying to find something that would help him. He then saw a door leading out to another section of the building on his left. The door was hanging off the hinges and there seemed to be a lot of glass lying around it. Harry smirked to himself again.**

**Harry braced himself, he could tell the Aurors were coming closer.**

**"Come now, enough of these childish games. Come quietly and we promise no harm will come to you." Kingsley Shacklebolt tried reasoning with the teen.**

Draco snorted. "You're the one playing games." He sneered at Shacklebolt. "Harry's going to win."

**Harry snorted and replied loudly.**

**"You're the ones playing games. I'm showing you how to win."**

Silence. Draco smiled proudly, glad that he was so similar to his friend, they even said the same things. Damien wasn't so happy. He wanted to have the relationship the smirking Slytherin clearly had with his brother.

'No.' He thought. 'It's more than that. I just want my brother.'

**With that said Harry spun around and darted across the room while throwing curses at the three Aurors who were standing the closest to him. Sirius and James watched as three curses left the boy's wand simultaneously and hit their mark. The three Aurors fell to the ground screaming as the acid spurt spell made their bodies erupt in horrible blisters. Harry kept on running. He could hear and feel the footsteps behind him. Harry moved to the right just in time as a stupefy spell came whizzing by him. He then turned sharply to the left as another body bind curse came flying by.**

"How does he know where they are coming from?" Bill asked, amazed.

**Harry was now approaching the door with the shattered glass.**

**"ACCIO GLASS SHARDS!" Harry yelled while still running towards the door.**

**He instantly threw himself to the ground as the sharp glass shards flew towards him. The glass shards missed Harry and instead flew straight into the three Aurors who were running behind him.**

Tonks winced in sympathy, "ouch."

**Harry heard the screams as the three Aurors hit the ground.**

"Ouch." Fred agreed.

**He rolled towards the door and just had time to throw himself into the other room before another curse came zooming towards him. It had missed Harry by a mere inch. Harry had barely time to register what this room was. He saw a set of stairs and dashed towards them. There were still four Aurors left and the ones injured would probably still pose a threat. He knew he had to get out of there as fast as possible.**

**He came back to the floor that he had found Sirius pretending to be Bella. He noticed an identical staircase to the one he had just climbed and began making his way towards it. He began climbing it and was nearly at the top when he felt a hand grab onto his foot, making him fall onto the hard stairs. Harry whipped his head around and saw a dark haired Auror, Kingsley Shacklebolt, pulling him down. Harry grabbed onto the stairs and twisted slightly so that he could raise his other foot. He saw the Auror point his wand at him. Harry used his free foot to smash onto the Auror's face. Harry repeatedly smashed his foot onto Kingsley's face**

"Ooooooh." There were many gasps and winces at that, Kingsley rubbing a hand over his face ruefully.

**until he felt the grip loosen and Harry wriggled away from him. Kingsley fell to the ground, blood gushing out of his broken nose.**

Tonks sniggered as the man subconsciously scratched his nose.

**Harry made it to the top and immediately ran towards a door at the far end. He heard heavy footsteps and a lot of shouting behind him.**   
**Harry ran through another door and found himself in what must have been the back of the building. It seemed that some time ago there was an attempt to renovate this crumbling wreck. Harry could see the abandoned scaffolding and large gaps in the floor. Harry looked behind him as he heard the Aurors approaching him. He knew that the best thing he could have done would have been to keep to the ground floor, as his only chance of escape was to go outside and past the anti apparation wards, however he was forced to come to the top and that is what he had done.**

**Harry heard commotion downstairs and he peered out, what would have been a window, he saw some ten masked men enter the building and start duelling fiercely with the remaining Aurors. Harry breathed a sigh of relief. The Death Eaters were here,**

"Crap."

"James!"

"Sorry Lil."

**Harry had some help now. He only had to find a safe way back downstairs. He felt another spell zoom by him and Harry ducked to save himself. He turned to see Sirius Black pointing his wand at him.**

"Gotcha." Sirius grinned in triumph.

"Don't be so sure." Lily bit her lip in worry. "We all know what my Harry's capable of." Pride shone in her eyes as she smirked at Sirius who just let out a bark like laugh. James squeezed her hand, a smile forcing its way onto his face as he shook his head.

"Don't we all." He said. "My son's gotta be the most powerful wizard of all time."

"I thought that was Dumbledore?" Damien asked.

"Only for now, Mr Potter." Said old man leant forward, a twinkle in his eye. "I fear that once your brother comes of age, he'll have me beat."

"That's my boy." James grinned.

**"Nowhere left to go now kid, just lower you wand." He commanded.**

**Harry in response gripped his wand tighter and took a step nearer to Sirius. Before Sirius could respond Harry lashed out at him, swinging his right foot straight into Sirius's abdomen. Sirius felt like a hammer had just hit him. He flew to the other side of the building and fell hard onto the ground. Sirius felt the unsteady floorboards shake a little as his weight hit them.**

"Ouch."

**Sirius stood up as Harry approached him. Harry caught Sirius off guard and smashed his fist into his face.**

"Ouch."

**He then swerved his right foot aiming at Sirius's chest, but Sirius caught his foot with both hands and twisted it, causing the boy to lose his balance and fall to the ground. Sirius then kicked the fallen boy hard in the ribs, causing the boy to cry out.**

"Sirius!"

"Oh come on Lily-Flower! I don't know its Harry! You know I wouldn't hurt him if I knew!"

**Sirius felt his heart leap in his chest. He felt strangely guilty at hurting him.**

"See." Sirius waved his hands around wildly. "I don't even know its him yet, and I feel bad!"

"Oh all right," Lily scowled. "I just don't want anyone hurting my son."

'Except yourself.' Draco thought spitefully.

**He put it down to the fact that he was duelling and hurting a sixteen year old boy which was causing the guilt. For all intents and purposes, the Dark Prince was still only a child. In a moment of hesitation Harry had jumped back onto his feet.**

**"You'll pay for that Black!" He spat at him. He moved with incredible speed and had knocked Sirius to the ground again.**

"Ouch."

"We get it Fred!"

"He's not Fred, I am!"

"Honestly Hermione, you call yourself our brother's girlfriend."

"I'm not..." The poor girl stuttered, red faced, until Ginny took pity on her.

"Lets just read, yeah?" The youngest Weasley prompted.

**Harry stood over him pointing his wand at Sirius's forehead. Before Harry could even utter a single word he felt a stabbing pain in his ribs. He staggered away from Sirius while clasping a hand over his side. He removed his hand to find it covered in blood. He had been hit with a stinging hex. Harry quickly blinked away the pain and looked around to locate the hexer.**

**He found it was James standing at the entrance.**

"Stupid, stupid." James said, yanking on his hair.

"Well yes you are, Potter," Severus drawled, "glad to see you've finally realised."

"Severus!" Lily snapped, levelling a glare at the man. She turned to her husband. "It's not your fault James, you didn't know it was Harry." She kissed his cheek. "Sit up, this hasn't happened yet and, now that we know, it never will. Understand?" James nodded.

"Understood. What would I do without you, Lils?"

"Crash and burn." She smiled pecking him on the lips.

"That's not fair!" Sirius whined playfully. "He gets a kiss and reassurance when he hurts Harry in this book, all I got was a glare and blame!"

"Shut up Padfoot."

**He was pointing his wand at him and moved slowly towards him. Harry sighed again.**

**"Don't you ever learn Potter? Stay away from things you can't handle!"**

**"Some habits die hard." James replied not daring to take his eyes away from the boy.**

**"Apparently, so do you." Harry said and as quick as a flash Harry had whipped out another ninja star.**

**James had only just managed to side step it as it came flying out of Harry's hand. It still managed to scratch James's arm as it went flying past him. Harry saw the crimson liquid seep out of James's arm and stain the blue robes James was wearing. Harry had his wand pointing at James, but before he could attack three jets of light came speeding at Harry.**

**"RECTUSEMPRA" came a shout in unison and Harry found himself hurtling through the air and smash into the ground a few feet away. He turned and saw three Aurors standing with their wands pointing at him. Harry cursed under his breath.**

**Sirius, Moody and Kingsley stood with their wands pointing at Harry as James went to join them. Ready to curse the hell out of him if they had to. Harry stood up gingerly and turned to face his group of enemies.**

**"Alright do your worst." he said in a low and dangerous voice as he prepared to bring up his shield.**

"He can't be serious?" Molly exclaimed.

"Well no he can't because I'm-"

"Don't you dare finish that."

**He deflected the four jets of light quite easily. He laughed softly at the looks of shock and disbelief on their faces. The shield that Harry had conjured covered Harry completely. He was standing within a shimmering blue bubble. There was no way any spell would be able to touch him. Harry brought the shield down momentarily to send two jets of 'Incendio' to the stunned Aurors. What happened next, nobody had quite prepared for.**

**As Harry's curse hit Sirius and Moody they deflected it with their shields and the four Aurors had turned their attention to the one boy standing before them. Seeing the shield down the four Aurors unknowingly attacked at the same time. Harry tried to block the four spells of 'Rictusempra' but the intensity was too much and he was sent hurtling through the air. Harry smashed on to the far wall and landed in a heap on the crumbling floor.**

Gasps sounded around the room as everyone sat, gazing transfixed at the book.

**As Harry made contact with the shaky floor it trembled and gave way. As the four Aurors watched, transfixed in horror, the boy went smashing to the floor below him, which coincidentally didn't hold up either and Harry fell through onto the concrete floor at ground level.**

"MERLINS SOGGY UNDERPANTS!"

"RONALD BILLIUS WEASLEY!"

"I thought it was quite appropriate, Molly dear."

"Don't encourage them, Arthur."

**The four Aurors stood still, frozen in complete horror at what they had done. James was the first one to rush down and find him buried under the rubble. He began moving the bricks and wood to find the boy. He was soon being helped by the other three Aurors as they frantically searched for him.**

**'Please don't be dead, oh, please don't be dead...' He thought terrified at the thought of killing a teenager by deception. He found the boy buried under a particularly heavy piece of the rubble.**

**"WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA" He and Sirius shouted and both of their wands lifted the debris away from the unconscious boy. James held a trembling finger at the masked boy's neck and let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.**

**"He's alive!" He informed the others and saw them share a look of relief.**

"Oh thank Merlin." Lily sighed in relief.

**Suddenly there was an outburst and they saw three Death Eaters shrieking and running at them.**

**"What have you done!" one of them bellowed. James could see the long blond hair and knew it was Lucius Malfoy under the mask.**

Draco gulped nervously, hoping his Father wouldn't be harmed.

**James and Moody rushed to their feet and blocked the way to the fallen boy. They started duelling with the Death Eaters. The other two Aurors rushed to their side and joined in.**

**"Take Prince and go!" shouted Malfoy to another Death Eater. James and Kingsley managed to block the approaching Death Eater while duelling furiously with the others.**

"Get Harry out of there!" Ginny screeched.

**"Sirius! Take the boy and head to the headquarters! Now!" James shouted over to his best friend. Sirius nodded his head and swooped down to pick up the boy. The boy moaned in his unconscious state causing Sirius's heart to plunge into his stomach. He hated this guilt ridden feeling.**

**"Sorry kid." he muttered while throwing the boy's broken body over his shoulder. Sirius managed to make it out of the building since the other Aurors were covering him, making sure no one would attack. It seemed pointless anyway since the Death Eaters were too afraid to attack in case they hit their master's son.**   
**Sirius got outside and held onto the boy tightly as he apparated from there straight to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.**

"YES!"

"Finally!"

"Woo Hoo!"

"WE GOT POTTER! WE GOT POTTER!"

"James, James-!"

"I know Lily." Amid the celebrating James Potter had eyes only for his wife, the joy he felt evident on his face. "We got him."

"Harry's coming home."


	10. Chapter Ten: Harry?

Despite being overcome with relief at the news that the plan to catch Harry was successful, trepidation filled the room. They were hopeful that Harry would instantly be overcome with joy at being liberated from the monsters grasp and reunited with his family, but everyone remembered his previous reactions to things regarding James and Lily in the book. His hatred towards his appearance, rejection of his family, _I'm not a Potter, I never was,'_ didn't exactly inspire confidence.

Draco worried over the safety of his best friend. To him, it appeared that Harry was in extreme danger, surrounded by enemies and those who had done despicable things to him as a _child,_ how could he not worry for his friend. Glancing around the room and taking note of the distracted faces - everyone appeared to be distracted with celebrating the news of Harry's capture - Draco took the parchment out of his pocket. He noted with a sneer that the only thing Moody seemed to be celebrating was the chance to hurt Harry, but pushed that thought away in order to take advantage of the situation. He slowly unfolded the parchment, silently summoning a quill from the table in the corner. He held his breath as it whizzed past Sirius' nose, and sighed in relief as the man did nothing but absently scratch his nose. 'Stupid mutt,' he thought, catching the quill and scribbling a quick message onto the parchment, the words fading as fast as they appeared. He knew Harry would get his message, placing the quill and parchment beside him on the couch he had commandeered, grateful that no one was sitting near him. Absently noting that the book had been passed to the Weasley's mother, he considered how Harry might react to his message. It was short, he couldn't afford to write a long message to his friend considering the other occupants in the room. Although, perhaps Harry would require elaboration on his part. After all, _'The order made a plan to capture you. It worked.'_ wasn't something that would please his friend.

Molly called for silence, waiting for everyone to settle before beginning to read.

**"Harry?"**

Lily smiled at the chapter title, knowing that it meant someone had recognised her son for who he was.

**Sirius appeared in the hallway of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. He looked around quickly. There was no one around and he quickly made his way upstairs to one of the bedrooms. Upon entering he laid the boy down on the floor and rushed to the fireplace.**

"I hope Harry's okay..." Hermione whispered to Ginny, who nodded worried about the condition of the boy who appeared to be lying listlessly on the floor. Draco, too, frowned. He knew that Harry would be up and fighting if he could, and the lack of motion worried him.

**He threw in some floo powder and shouted.**

**"DUMBLEDORE'S OFFICE, HOGWARTS!" he stuck in his head and waited for the swirling to stop. Soon enough he was staring out into Professor Dumbledore's office.**

**"Albus! Albus are you there?" Sirius asked urgently. He didn't want the boy to wake up soon.**

"Oh, Merlin he's unconscious." Lily's hands flew to cover her mouth as she gasped, breathless with worry.

"Well, duh. Your husband threw him down two floors!" Draco snarled, mask breaking so everyone could see the worry he held for his friend. Realising the reason for all the looks of pity he was receiving, he snapped his mask back into place, angry when this did nothing to deter the looks.

**"Sirius, my boy, what is the matter?" came Dumbledore's reply as he kneeled down to see Sirius's head sitting in the flames.**

**"Albus, we got him! We captured the Dark Prince." Sirius realised how excited his voice sounded.**

"Yeah we did!" Fred and George high-fived.

"You two did nothing." Ginny stated, "there's no 'we' here."

**"Well done my boy! Where is he now?"**

**"Here at the headquarters, I need you to come quickly, along with the nurse, if possible." Sirius cowered slightly at the look in Dumbledore's eyes.**

'Displeased that his 'weapon' is damaged. no doubt,' Draco thought snidely. Unintentionally, he broadcasted his thoughts loudly enough that even with his mental shields, Snape was able to hear. He shot the boy a dark look in warning, and Draco reinforced his shields. He feared that Dumbledore too had heard, but a quick glance proved the man much too occupied with the book to have heard anything.

**"How badly hurt is he?" Dumbledore asked now without even a hint of twinkle in his eyes.**

**"Um…I…I don't know. He's going to need medical attention that's all I know." Sirius finished feeling really guilty now.**

"Please don't hit me!" Sirius yelped as Lily turned towards him, a strange gleam in her eye. He jumped in surprise as the woman he regarded as his sister enveloped him in a hug instead, bringing his hand - previously raised is an 'I surrender' position - to rest on her head.

"Lily?" James was concerned, his wife looked unsettled, seeming to be proud and sad at the same time. "What's wrong love?"

"Sirius feels guilty," Lily explained. "He doesn't even know it's Harry who's hurt, but he still feels guilty. I'm so proud of you Sirius," She turned to look at the man she was hugging.

"But?" Sirius inquired, knowing there was more.

"How badly hurt is Harry?" Lily looked anguished now, and Sirius pulled her back into the hug to comfort her. James sighed.

"I suppose we're about to find out." He said desolately.

**"I will be there with Madame Pomfrey as soon as possible."**

"Madame Promfrey? Is that wise Albus, she isn't a member of the order?" McGonagall inquired.

"I trust Poppy with my life, no doubt I also trust her with something as, delicate, as this."

**Sirius pulled his head out of the fire and waited until the spinning had stopped. He looked over to the boy and was surprised to see Moody and Kingsley in the room as well.**

**"Hey guys I didn't even hear you come in. Where is James and the rest?"**

"Yeah!" James cried. "He's my son, I should be there!"

"Perhaps, at first it would be wise if you weren't in the room-" Dumbledore was interrupted by the outraged Potters.

"Excuse me?" Lily began, "That's our son! Out of everyone, we have the most right-"

"I want to meet my brother. That's not fair-"

"I would like to see you try and stop me, Dumbledore," James' determined voiced cut across the room like a knife.

"James," Arthur began hesitantly, "what Dumbledore means is that you are Harry's father, and therefore you will be biased. Despite what we all want to think, Harry's dangerous," he ignored the flinches from James and Lily, amoung others, and gestured to the book, "this book has provided us all with proof of that. Dumbledore just doesn't want your emotions getting in the way of you doing your job, and containing a possible threat." His face softened, pity colouring his next words, "I know its hard, believe me, but you have to let other people deal with Harry, at first. You will be with him, just not right away."

It was clear that James didn't like it, but he nodded despite himself. "If anything happens to Harry, I'll never forgive myself for not being there to prevent it," he warned.

"That's the curse of parents," Molly smiled before continuing.

Draco was confused, barely paying attention as the woman continued to read. 'The Potters are really good actors,' he thought, 'probably just eager to get their punching bag back.'

**"At the Ministry, they had to accompany the fallen Death Eaters" came Moody's reply but he was not taking his eyes off the still unconscious boy on the floor.**

'At least someone's vigilant,' Charlie thought, spiteful towards the injured boy.

**"Dumbledore will be here soon." Sirius said as Moody approached the boy. Sirius watched as Moody bent low over the boy and checked his pulse.**

"Oh God, he's not dead is he?" Hermione gasped, tears filling Damien's eyes at the thought.

"No." Lily strode across the room to her son, grasping his shoulders and pulling him into a hug, looking at Hermione over his shoulder. "No he's not dead. My Harry's strong. He's not dead." Damien smiled weakly at her reassurance, pulling away from her shoulder and blushing in embarrassment. Lily, understanding that her son wanted to appear strong in front of his friends, let him go and went back to her husband's side.

**"It's weak but he's still breathing." he informed the room.**

Despite her earlier reassurances to her worried son, Lily let out a quiet sigh of relief. James loped an arm around her shoulders and drew her into his side, smiling with relief.

**He then moved behind the boy and suddenly wrenched the boy's arms around his back and began magically binding them. A pain filled cry was heard from the boy in his still semi-conscious state.**

Sirius leapt to his feet, outraged. Remus and James quickly joined him, Lily trying desperately to tug them back onto the couch.

'Here comes some more quality acting,' Draco sneered, leaning back in his seat with a bored expression to watch the 'show'.

"How dare you! He's injured! There's no need to tie him up!" Remus cried.

"There's every reason to," Moody snarled in return. "He's a monster! Who gives a shit if he gets hurt. Little snakes faking it anyway!" Despite his harsh words Moody felt a flash of guilt, looking into Lily's eyes as she too leapt up from the couch. He didn't care for the 'Dark Prince', but he was shouting at people he had called friends for years, people who Frank and Alice had loved.

"Why you-" Lily started, eyes flashing with rage. Draco shivered, her expression was so similar to Harry's when he was mad. Dumbledore cut her off,

"Lily, please sit down. Alastor, do try to keep your comments to yourself." His normally twinkling eyes had a dangerous gleam to them as he voiced his warning to the man, who scoffed but remained silent (for now). Dumbledore looked at Molly, who nodded and continued. James, Remus and Sirius joined Lily on the couch, fuming silently.

**Sirius was suddenly on his feet.**

**"Wait! Alastor what are you doing?" he asked as he rounded on Moody who was still busy checking the tightness of the bonds, oblivious to the boy's cry and harsh breathing.**

Lily's nostrils flared, but she remained seated.

**"Making sure that the brat can't run away or wandlessly blast us."**

**Moody was now reaching into the boy's robes and began taking out the weapons hidden within them. Sirius watched in awe as the multiple ninja stars and weapons were piled away by Moody.**

'Paranoid,' Draco smirked to himself.

**Sirius noticed that the boy had now come around and was watching his weapons being taken from him. He instinctively tried to stop Moody but then realised that he was quite unable to move.**

"Harry, don't-" James cut himself off as Lily shook her head. Talking to a book wouldn't stop Harry, no matter how much they wished it would. The parents braced themselves, knowing that Harry would be in a lot of pain until the healer came, especially if he continued to resist.

**He tried wrenching his arms out of the bonds but instead let out another cry as his broken arm and wrists objected strongly to being tied up. Sirius watched with a heavy heart as the boy began to panic and his green eyes, still behind the silver mask, darted around trying to focus on where he was. Then his eyes met his own and Sirius felt his heart break as he saw the pain in them.**

"Merlin," Sirius breathed, feeling sick. 'It hasn't happened yet,' he thought. 'And it never will.'

"We'll do things differently," Bill said, Tonks nodding firmly across the room.

"He won't get hurt this time!" She looked to James and Lily, who smiled weakly at her conviction.

**Moody however was not showing an ounce of sympathy. He walked around and picked up the small pile of weapons and without warning viciously kicked the boy in his ribs.**

Moody saw the hex coming, but let it hit him anyway. Lily saw this, knew it was the mans way of trying to gain forgiveness, but it did nothing to calm her temper. She readied her wand for another blow, viciously beginning to hiss the words of another hex, but James grabbed her wand arm. She looked at him, aghast, but he just shook his head as Moody waved his wand and cancelled the affect of the previous hex. Unhappy, Lily shot Moody another glare, wrenching her arm from James' grasp.

**The boy gasped in pain. He curled up in order to relieve the pain in his already broken ribs.**

Growls resounded within the room.

**"Moody! That's enough! There is no need for that." Sirius grabbed Moody as he prepared to deliver another kick to the fallen boy, and pulled him away.**

"Thank you, Sirius." James smiled at his long-time best friend.

**"No need, Eh! Oh I think there is. This…this little piece of shit is the reason Alice and Frank aren't here…! This is the monster that burnt them to a cinder! He is the reason for our injured comrades…I am going to kill him!"**

Sirius winced. "I wouldn't be so quick to thank me mate."

"What?" James faced his mate, confused. "Why not?"

"I don't know its Harry," Sirius' voice was laced with pain, "I'm worried that the me in that," he gestured towards the book clutched in Molly's tight grip, "is going to treat Harry badly for what he... did to Frank and Alice." James looked away.

"It's not your fault." The timid voice came from, to the surprise of many, Ron. "I mean," he looked around, voice fading as his courage left him under the many focused gazes resting upon him. He took a deep breath and focused on the guilty looking Sirius, "you don't know its your Godson. If you did, you would never hurt him! No matter what he's done!"

"Don't be so sure," Draco sighed. "He's done more than enough damage to Harry."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Remus snarled.

"You really don't know?" Draco raised a quizzical eyebrow. "I suppose they didn't trust the wolf to keep a secret."

"Who didn't trust Remus?" Lily's voice was raised, snapping the question at Draco.

"The ones Harry hates the most." Draco's reply was more venomous than anything Lily could spit his way, and she was momentarily taken back.

"I don't know what you're talking about, kid, but it better stop. You're getting a grace period because you happen to be my son's best friend, but that period is now over." James put an arm around Lily, voice strong. Damien shivered, his dad sounded really mad and he was just glad he wasn't on the receiving end of that anger.

"They'll find out soon enough," Draco glared defiantly. "You sure you don't want to tell them? This is your one chance to twist the story in your defence."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" James sounded desperate now. Draco scoffed and looked away, and Molly hesitantly began to read again.

**Moody was struggling against Sirius's hold and managed to get away from him. He swept over to the boy and grabbed him by his hair and roughly pulled him to his feet. Sirius saw the boy's eyes flicker with pain. Moody tugged hard and brought his face close to the boy's.**

**"I am going to make you pay boy, if it's the last thing I do." he growled.**

Moody smirked, agreeing with the words from his future self.

**Sirius looked over to Kingsley to see if he was sharing Moody's pleasure of torturing the boy.  
**

"I'm not." Kingsley's deep voiced resonated within the room. "Or at least, it's affecting me that it's little Harry getting hurt." He didn't look away from where his gaze was fixed on the photo of Harry in the middle of the room, knowing with a heavy heart that his future self wouldn't share his opinions.

**Kingsley was standing with an expressionless look on his face. The dried blood from his broken nose was crusted on his face and robes, it was not bothering him in the slightest that Moody was hurting a child that was already in so much pain.**

**Sirius prayed silently that Dumbledore would come quickly.**

"He's on his way, and with a healer too!" Tonks tried to remain bubbly for the sake of them all, but the reality of Harry in so much pain because of the actions of the light side was affecting everyone deeply.

**He was the only one who could control Moody. Sirius took another step towards him.**

**"Moody, really! Do you think this is right? I mean, we've got him. He will pay for all of his crimes. You don't have to do this." He tried talking calmly to Moody since shouting at him didn't work.**

**Moody rounded on Sirius, letting go of the boy's hair causing the boy to fall to the floor in a crumpled heap.**

Lily inhaled sharply, sadness flickering across her face.

**"Right? Nothing about this is right! Was it right for the Longbottoms to be killed in there own home? Was it right for Neville Longbottom to be orphaned at such an early age? Was it right for James to nearly lose his life? Huh answer me!"**

The list of Harry's crimes made many occupants feel the desire for vengeance, however momentarily. For many, it faded as they looked at the photo of Harry at his most innocent, but Moody and Charlies rage was only fuelled by the words.

**At the mention of James, Sirius felt rage and anger suddenly erupt inside him. He remembered how he had felt when he arrived at the fallen body of his best friend. He remembered fearing for James's life when he saw the deep gash in his neck and all that blood around him. James had lost so much blood. He could have died.**

James grabbed Sirius' arm, smiling at him reassuringly to remind him he wasn't dead. Damien gripped Hermione's sleeve tightly, gaze focused on his father like he might disappear if he looked away.

**Sirius suddenly, blinded by rage walked over to the boy who was now being held up by Kingsley, as it was apparent that he could not stay on his feet on his own. Sirius ran his fingers into the boys raven coloured hair and wrenched his head back, ignoring the pained gasp that escaped the boy's lips.**

Sirius winced, looking down. "Sorry Harry," he whispered to himself.

**"I think it's time we saw your pretty face, don't you?" he said in a low voice.**

"YES!" Tonks cried, along with the underage witches and wizards.

**The boy's eyes widened with horror and he tried to wriggle out of Sirius's grasp.**

**"N-no!" he managed to choke out.**

"Don't worry Harry, you have nothing to fear from us. We won't hurt you once we know who you are, not like the Death Eaters." Tonks smiled at the book reassuringly, Remus staring at her adoringly, looking away quickly at Sirius' nudge.

**Sirius laughed and released him. The boy tried to get as far away from Sirius as he could but Kingsley pushed him back.**

**Sirius put a hand over the boy's silver mask and ripped it off in one go. The reaction that followed was one that Sirius would never forget.**

**Sirius gasped and stepped away from the boy. Kingsley managed to keep a firm grip on him but felt himself go weak at the sight of the Dark Prince. Moody just stood there with his mouth open in shock.**

**Sirius looked up into the face that reminded him of someone that was closer to him than his own brother.**

"Nawwwww."

"Shut up."

**He looked into the emerald green eyes that he could now tell, without that horrid mask, were identical to Lily's. He looked at the boy who stood glaring at him, his hair, his face. He was an exact carbon copy of James with the exception of Lily's eyes.**

"I knew he'd look like you!" Lily jumped up and down in her seat, gripping James' arm tightly and shaking him.

**Sirius didn't need anything else to prove who this boy was, standing before him. It was James and Lily's son, his own godson.**

**"Harry?" he choked out.**

**Harry didn't respond. He continued glaring at Sirius, while trying not to give in to the pain that was racking his body.**

**"Harry? You…you are…Harry Potter!" Sirius said while taking a step toward his godson.**

"Damn straight he is!"

"James! Language!"

**At hearing his full name being spoken Harry reared his head up and managed to say in a low voice.**

**"My name…is Harry Marvolo!"**

"No. No it's not. You're my son, my Harry. Harry James Potter!" James glared defiantly at the book, as if he could will Harry to accept the truth.

"He is Harry Marvolo!" Draco said. "The Dark Lords son, the Dark Prince himself. He's not yours anymore. He never was."

"He is our son. Damien's brother. Our Harry! Now that we have him back, he will learn the truth! We will never lose him again!" Lily was crying, but her voice didn't falter, didn't shake. Draco was once again taken back by the resolve in her voice, wondering why the Potters kept acting.

'They lost him?' He thought. 'But Harry said he ran away.' He figured it must just be apart of the act.

**Sirius looked as if the sky had fallen on him. He quickly stepped up to the boy and grabbed him by the shoulders. Harry winced painfully but didn't let another gasp leave his lips.**

**"No! You are Harry Potter! You are James and Lily's son. Harry Potter!" Sirius informed him, naively thinking that the truth must have been kept from him.**

"He knows who gave _birth_ to him, and he knows who _raised_ him. That is who he calls Father, not you." James glared but didn't reply. He held out hope that despite Draco's words he was wrong, that Harry wanted to return to his real family. Why wouldn't he, after being kept from them for so long?

**Harry shrugged Sirius away from himself, ignoring the shooting pain in his arm and glared back at him.**

**"No! I am Harry Marvolo, Son of Lord Voldemort."**

**"Harry please…" Sirius was cut off as a burst of green flames announced the arrival of someone. 'Oh Merlin, please don't let it be James, please not just yet!' wished Sirius. He spun around to see a very baffled and shocked looking Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey standing at the fireplace.**

**Sirius spun around to look at Harry and was shocked to see the anger and hate in his eyes as he glared at Dumbledore.**

"Oh yeah, he really doesn't like you." Draco smiled at the Headmaster, expecting him to be upset by the news. Instead, Dumbledore smiled back.

"I had no expectations that Harry would hold affection for me, given who raised him. Tom always held resentment towards me, no doubt he has passed that on."

**Harry was still breathing heavily and Sirius was sure that if Kingsley let go Harry would not be able to stand. Nevertheless it didn't stop Harry giving a murderous glare at Albus Dumbledore.**

**Dumbledore on the other hand was looking at Harry with an incredulous look in his blue eyes. Sirius could see that Dumbledore had been shocked to his core and was finding it difficult to speak.**

The twins shifted uncomfortably, sharing the same discomfort as the younger kids. The thought of Albus Dumbledore being rendered speechless by something was uncomprehend able, and didn't sit well with them.

**Sirius didn't know what to do. He looked on helplessly as Harry continued to glare at Dumbledore. Moody spoke up.**

**"Albus, I don't think that this is possible. It must be a trap." he was looking at Harry with a cautious look as if expecting him to jump out of his skin as someone else. Sirius however stepped closer to Dumbledore and Moody.**

**"He is Harry Potter, my instincts can't be wrong about this!" Sirius argued.**

"He is definitely my Godson, I'd recognise him anywhere."

"Except when he's wearing a mask?" Remus questioned.

"Well, nobody's perfect Moony."

**"Release him." said Dumbledore quietly, tearing his eyes away from Harry to look at Moody.**

**"What?" Moody was confused. It even took Sirius a moment to realise that Dumbledore was referring to the bonds that were placed on Harry.**

**"Oh…Right." Moody grumbled and flicked his wand and mumbled the counter curse releasing Harry.**

"Thank Merlin you have some sense, Albus."

"My dear Minerva, I would never allow Harry to be hurt by anyone in the Order."

'But you already have,' Draco thought. 'How could you not have known?'

**Harry instantly brought his injured arm to his chest protectively and groaned at the pain that was shooting through him. At hearing the groan of pain Kingsley let go of him and Harry fell to the ground, unable to stand by himself. At once Sirius and Dumbledore rushed to Harry and tried to help him up. Harry however looked at them furiously and backed away from them as much as his injured body allowed him.**

"Oh, Harry, let them help you!" Fleur was distraught, unable to believe that Harry wouldn't seek aid from the Order members.

**Dumbledore looked at the child he had believed was the 'chosen one'. He still couldn't believe it. Harry Potter was alive! It was nothing short of a miracle.**

"Didn't expect him to survive, then?"

"Well of course not." Dumbledore peered over his glasses at the young Slytherin who knew Harry so well. "Voldemort is know to destroy his enemies, not care for them."

'Not what I meant!' Draco scowled to himself, not meeting the old mans gaze lest he read his thoughts.

**Harry was taking short rapid breaths, as if he was having trouble breathing. He brought his good hand to his side gingerly as his broken ribs were actually sticking out of his skin.**

"Ewwwww!" Damien cried. "I'm going to be sick!"

**He felt very faint. His head was pounding and he felt very sick.**

"Looks like your brother is too, hey?!" Fred laughed. Ginny elbowed him sharply, shaking her head to make it clear that it wasn't funny.

**He tried to fight the blackness that was slowly engulfing him. Sirius and Dumbledore were still trying to approach Harry and convince him that they were trying to help.**

**"Harry, its okay. We want to help you." Dumbledore tried.**

**"I'm so sorry Harry, I didn't know…please Harry, let me help you." Sirius tried once more to help Harry up and stopped short when he violently backed away from him. At once Harry gasped and bit his lip to stop himself screaming in pain as his movements jolted his broken and bruised body.**

"You don't have to act strong, baby. Let it out." Lily whispered, distraught.

**Sirius and Dumbledore backed away from Harry, not wanting to inflict any more pain. Sirius turned to Kingsley who was looking very pale and was compassionately staring at the injured boy sprawled on the floor.**

**"Kingsley, go to the office, stop James from coming here. Just tell him anything! Make sure he just doesn't come here!" Sirius instructed Kingsley who seemed glad to get away from the awkward situation.**

James looked at Sirius, smiling weakly and nodding his understanding. He knew that his presence would only make healing Harry harder to do, no matter how much he wished he could be there. He was thankful that his friend was delaying his arrival, hopefully until after his son was healed. He hated to think about how he might react to seeing Harry in pain, considering that he could barely contain himself merely reading about it.

**"Alastor, keep the Ministry away from here. We need to sort out a couple of things before they interfere and want to take over." Dumbledore told Moody, who began complaining how impossible it was going to be to keep the Ministry away.**

**No one noticed a very pale Madame Pomfrey approaching Harry and gently supporting the boy, who surprisingly allowed the nurse to help him, to the bed nearby and gently lay him down. She brushed away his bangs from his eyes and smiled embarrassingly at him.**

**"It's going to be okay Harry. I'll take care of you" she whispered softly as Harry gave in to the blackness that finally engulfed him.**

"Does Poppy know Harry?" Arthur turned to look at Albus who shrugged, confused. As one, the room turned to look at Draco, who tried his hardest not to shift uncomfortably under the weight of their stares.

"What?" He demanded.

"Well?" Charlie questioned.

"Well...?" Draco drawled, raising one eyebrow.

"Does Harry know Madame Pomfrey?" Bill finished his brothers question. Draco rolled his eyes, looking at the ceiling like he couldn't believe that someone could ask a question so stupid.

"How would I know?"

"Aren't you his best friend or something, Malfoy?" Ron sneered.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You must tell your friends everything, Weasley." Ron blushed,

"Well, no, but-"

"Exactly."

**xxx**

**Madame Pomfrey ushered Dumbledore and Moody out of the room and told Sirius to block the fireplace in that room so that she could not be interrupted. Sirius did so and left immediately to join Dumbledore and Moody in the main dining room.**

**Sirius watched numbly as Dumbledore repeated his instruction to Moody to go to the Ministry and buy them some time. Moody grumbled under his breath, how futile this would be and stumped frustratingly out the door.**

Tonks snorted at her old mentors behaviour. "Good luck."

**They both sat with their heads hung down, deep in thought. Sirius desperately asked.**

**"Albus, what are we going to do now?"**

**"What do you mean?"**

**Sirius tried not to reach over and shake the old fool.**

"Haha, sorry Professor."

"Quite alright, my boy."

**"What do I mean? I mean what are we going to** **_do_ ** **now? We can't just hand Harry over to the Ministry. They will order the Dementors Kiss without trial! We can't hide him forever! Not that he would willingly stay with us, and we sure as hell can't send him back to that monster Voldemort!"**

"That's a good point. How-?"

"We could try to hide him, Sirius' house would be ideal-"

"-headquarters-"

"Could be dangerous-"

"-Give away our position-"

"What if he's uncooperative-"

"-Is most likely-"

The murmur of conversation continued - the twins loudly suggesting to Damien that the Whomping Willow would be the best place to hide him - until Dumbledore cleared his throat. Draco and Snape, the only two to remain silent throughout the debate, as even Moody and Charlie decided to loudly protest, had been studying the Headmasters face throughout, and knew he had a plan.

"I already know where Harry is to go." The old man smiled serenely.

"Where?" James questioned.

"In time, the answer will be revealed."

"How? How do you know that the future you isn't going to send him somewhere else?"

"I rarely change my mind, James. My actions are quite predictable to those who know me, and no one knows me better than myself."

**Dumbledore gave Sirius a stunned look, that was the first time Sirius had said Voldemort's name without stuttering. He gave the smallest of sighs and tried to smile at his ex-student.**

**"Sirius, my boy. Please calm down. We just need to speak to Harry. The poor boy has been misled by Voldemort. Once he learns the truth about who he is I am sure that he will help us in sorting out this whole mess."**

"Mislead?" Draco said in disbelief.

"Why else wouldn't he come back?" Bill questioned. "If he knew his family was alive, why stay away."

"I guess you'll find out." Draco muttered. 'One way or another.'

**If Dumbledore thought that this would have calmed Sirius down then he was greatly mistaken. Sirius erupted and leapt up so fast his chair went flying behind him.**

**"Help us! Harry willing to help us! Merlin, Albus. Did you not see the way he was reacting to us? Especially towards you! He was not misled by Voldemort, he knows who he is, he knew that James was his real father, but he still attacked him. He attacked James and left him to die! Albus, Harry is not going to help us or himself for that matter. He hates us and will try to escape back to Voldemort regardless of what truths we tell him."**

Draco looked surprised. "That's the most intelligent thing I've ever heard you say."

"Oh, be quiet."

**Sirius was breathing very hard and his hands were shaking with fury. Why couldn't Dumbledore understand that they were screwed? This meant that James and Lily were going to lose their son all over again.**

"Like hell am I going to let my son go." Lily snarled.

**Sirius couldn't keep the tears of frustration and heartbreak at bay any longer. He sunk to the floor and covered his face in his hands. Dumbledore came over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to comfort him.**

**"My dear boy, I understand your dilemma. James and Lily are going to find this very difficult to deal with, but I promise you that I will not allow them to lose Harry again."**

**Sirius looked up at Dumbledore with tearstained eyes.**

**"How?" he croaked out.**

**Dumbledore gave him another small smile.**

**"You probably didn't notice, but when Poppy laid Harry down on the bed she pushed his hair away from his forehead and I saw something that will probably save Harry."**

"You did?" Damien questioned hopefully.

**"What…what did you see?" Sirius almost whispered to him, still sitting on the ground.**

**"He has been marked by Voldemort."**

Draco burst out laughing. "You stupid old man!" He crowed, "You really think that Harry's scar is the answer? That he's going to turn against the Dark Lord because of it?" Dumbledore looked taken back.

"Well, yes. You see, Mister Malfoy, the scar relates to the prophecy-"

"You don't even know what it is!"

"Any you do?" Tonks questioned her youngest relative.

"Duh, Harry told me. He's very proud of it, and what it represents."

"What's that then?" Hermione asked.

Draco smirked but didn't reply, at least not to directly answer Hermione's question. "Not what the Headmaster thinks."

**Sirius gasped and looked positively horror stricken.**

**"He…he…he marked Harry with the…Dark Mark?" he asked with a shaky breath.**

**"No. He has marked him in another way." Dumbledore looked straight into Sirius's eyes and recited part of the prophesy that the entire Order had learned by heart.**

**"** **_The Dark Lord will mark him as his equal_ ** **" he said slowly and let the understanding sink in. Sirius looked at Dumbledore with a confused expression.**

"Of course you didn't get it," Remus groaned.

**"You see Sirius,** **_Harry_ ** **is the** **_chosen one_ ** **, not Neville Longbottom. After all, that is why he was taken fifteen years ago.**

' _What?'_ Draco thought, terribly confused. 'Is that the lie they're going with? But Harry will never believe that!' Looking around the room, he noted that no one else seemed surprised by this news, almost as if Harry was taken fifteen years ago, instead of running away when he was four. Either they were all in on the abuse Harry suffered, had all been lied to by the Potters, or... it was the truth.

**Voldemort did not kill him like we all thought. He was smarter than that. He instead decided to use the chosen one. He has brought Harry up like a son and in return got Harry to love him like a father. Harry does not realise that the love Voldemort shows him is in fact a survival technique, since Harry now can not even think of hurting Voldemort. He has corrupted the innocence that Harry had, turned him into a ruthless killer so that we would not give him a chance of redemption. You see, Voldemort had made a good plan, Harry is a very powerful Wizard and Voldemort has been using that power to finish off his enemies, but he also was making sure that if Harry was ever caught, then the Light side would annihilate their saviour by their very own hands.**

'What a bunch of bullshit!' Draco was fuming, 'I'm not sure how much more of these lies I can take!' He jumped as he felt the parchment on the couch beside him buzzing, picking it up and unfolding it to reveal a message had been scribbled on.

_I've been captured? We have to meet, face to face. You have to tell me everything, I don't trust you not to forget something when writing. Meet me at the Shrieking Shack. I can get there through the entrance in Hogsmead, I trust you know the way from Hogwarts. Be there in half an hour, or I'll be gone._

The message faded before his eyes, but his mind was already whirring. How could he excuse himself from the room without raising suspicion. He needed to leave, and quickly, if he wanted to make it to the shack in time. His eyes jumped to his Head of House, and he quickly began probing his mental shields as Molly continued to read.

**Tell me Sirius, if this boy was anyone other than Harry, what fate would he have suffered by now? You would not have given him a second thought as you tossed him in front of the Dementors. It just so happens that he is the son of your best friend, your own godson that has kept Harry alive until now." Dumbledore paused to let his explanation sink in.**

**Sirius was looking a little sick but had managed to keep up with Dumbledore.**

"Its true." Sirius looked miserable as James and Lily attempted to comfort him.

Snape's head snapped around sharply as he detected Draco's presence in his mind. Meeting his Godson's gaze, he sent a query towards him.

_'What?'_

_'I need help. I have to leave.'_

_'Why?'_

_'None of your concern!'_

' _We both know that's not true. Tell me why Draco! Haven't I already proved you can trust me?'_

Draco considered this. The book had revealed that Snape's loyalties didn't lie with Voldemort, but then again, neither did Draco's. He was loyal to Harry, perhaps Snape was loyal to the Malfoy's. His own Godfather wouldn't betray him.

_'I am going to see Harry.'_

_'Are you kidding me!?'_

_'No. There are some things I must explain.'_

_'I can't let you do this!'_

' _You can't stop me.'_

_'I can easily tell them, Draco, don't test me.'_

_'You won't. Please Severus.'_

Snape sighed. Ignoring the pleading looks Draco was sending his way, he turned towards Dumbledore and opened his mouth. He knew what he was going to do.

"Headmaster, I'm afraid I must leave momentarily. Please do not hold the reading. It's not necessary." Dumbledore considered the man for a moment, noting how Snape gripped his left arm as though it pained him. He nodded, and Snape immediately rose and strode towards the door.

"Draco, I require your presence." He snapped, and the boy hurriedly stood. He joined Snape at the door, and before anyone could question them they were gone. Molly paused, looking to the Headmaster, silently asking if she should wait for their return. He shook his head, and she continued.

**"Sirius, I believe it was fate that brought Harry directly into your hands. He could have been captured by any other Auror and it would have been too late for anyone to save him. If Harry has fallen into our hands, it must be because we can help him. I know that this is not going to be easy, Harry is going to be very difficult to get through to, but I truly believe that it can be done."**

Lily smiled at James, who looked at her with hope in his eyes.

**"What about the Ministry, Fudge doesn't believe the prophesy, he never has." Sirius said in a defeated voice.**

**"Leave Fudge to me. I am sure that the Minister and I will come to some sort of agreement."**

"You always do, don't you Headmaster." Kingsley smiled at their leader.

**Sirius looked a little doubtful. He knew that the Minister would probably use the capture of the Dark Prince to boost his popularity as the recent attacks were dragging him down lately. Before he could open his mouth to argue this point the door to the dining room opened and a very pale and exhausted looking Madame Pomfrey came in.**

"Oh, I hope Harry's okay!" Damien looked worried.

**Sirius and Dumbledore quickly rose to their feet and helped Madame Pomfrey into a chair. She gave them a thankful look and collapsed onto the chair.**

**"How is he Poppy?" asked Dumbledore gently.**

**"Well, he will survive.**

"Thank Merlin." Lily breathed a sigh of relief along with the majority of the room.

**He had some very nasty injuries. His right arm and wrist were broken and so was his left ankle. His back was very badly bruised. He's lucky he didn't break his spine. He also had two broken ribs and a cracked one. That was why he had difficulty breathing properly.**

Hisses and moans were heard as everyone took in this news.

**I have mended all his broken bones and administered some pain relief potion. I have left some more potions in the room that he has to take, they are to help bring the bruising down and for the pain."**

**Sirius looked positively horrified now. What would have happened if Harry had not survived that awful fall? Sirius tried not to shudder at the thought of removing that silver mask from a dead body in the rumble.**

"Oh God. That would be awful!" Hermione shuddered, thinking about how that would affect James, seeing as he was one of the people responsible for the accident.

**"Honestly though, what were you thinking, attacking him like that! He fell from two floors down! You are so lucky he didn't die!" she said rounding on Sirius. She was looking livid and reminded Sirius of Professor McGonagall.**

**"It wasn't on purpose…wait…how did you know that?"**

They gazed suspiciously at the book. How could Poppy know, unless Harry had told her?

**Poppy looked at him for a moment, apprehension, evident on her face, before answering.**

**"He told me."**

"WHAT!"

**Sirius was speechless for a moment.**

**"What! He told you? Why would he do that? Why did he speak to you and no one else?"**

**Poppy looked a little uncomfortable and then decided to just tell the truth.**

**"Because…because I know him."**

"HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?"

**"WHAT!" exploded Sirius.**

**"You…You know him! How do you know him?" Sirius was instinctively reaching for his wand when Dumbledore stopped him.**

"Are we sure she's not... a traitor?"

"It's _Poppy,_ Sirius-"

"And I trust her with my life." Dumbledore cut everyone off.

**"Poppy, please explain this." he looked really tired and wary now.**

**"Well, Professor Dumbledore. Do you remember approximately six months ago there was an attack on my home? My husband Paul and I had been in the garden at the time and were helplessly left to watch our two children die in our burning house. The Death Eaters had put us in full body binds and had set our house on fire, screaming at me that I deserved this since I was a nurse who helped muggle born children at Hogwarts.**

Hermione gasped, hands flying to her mouth as tears filled her eyes. "I'm so sorry. They attacked her because, because of me."

"That's not true." Lily looked fiercely at the girl. "I'm muggle-born just like you, and sweetheart, we are not to blame for their actions. They are despicable creatures who thrive off the pain of others, they would've attacked Poppy, regardless of who she helps."

Hermione nodded helplessly, still feeling guilty for something she held no blame for. Ron wrapped his arm around her shoulders awkwardly, attempting to provide comfort.

**When the Death Eaters left there was no one around to help us. Even our godforsaken neighbours had been terrified of helping us for fear of the Death Eaters. Then out of nowhere, this young boy arrived and just rushed into our burning home.**

"Harry?" George queried.

**He saved Jenna and David from burning to death and also released Paul and me from the spell binding us. He asked me what had happened and I told him about the Death Eaters. I still remember the rage in his green eyes.**

"Harry." Fred nodded.

**He told me not to worry and that the Death Eaters would never harm us again. Before he left I asked him who he was and he just smiled at me and told me that he was called Harry.**

"HAAAARRRRRYYYY!" They screeched together.

**I never saw him again, until today." she finished with tears in her eyes.**

**Sirius was speechless. Harry had** **_saved_ ** **two little children from dying. But why? Harry had saved them from people on his own side. Harry risked his life at the age of fifteen for two small children of his enemies.**

"That's my boy!"

" _Our_ boy."

"Yes, yes."

**"Poppy, did you see his face clearly, I mean it was definitely Harry, he wasn't wearing any mask to cover his face was he?" Sirius asked cautiously.**

**"No. He was not wearing any sort of mask. He was wearing wizard robes but no mask. His face was clear for all to see."**

**"But then why didn't you tell anyone that you had seen someone who looked exactly like James!" Sirius nearly shouted at her.**

"Well, she's never seen me before, so..."

"Oh..."

**Poppy looked at Sirius and then replied calmly.**

**"Because Mr Black, I have never to this day seen Mr Potter, so that would have been quite a connection for me to make."**

**Sirius looked at her blankly, and then it hit him. Of course, she had never met James. Poppy was a school nurse at Hogwarts and had yet to be initiated into the Order. James had paid enough visits to Hogwarts but had yet to meet all the new staff there. Sirius felt like a complete idiot and mumbled his apology to her. She dismissed it with her hand saying it was fine.**

**Dumbledore was however smiling and turned to Sirius:**

**"Well, it seems our Harry has a little** **_saving people thing_ ** **"**

"Oh, I'm so proud." Lily gushed. Ginny blushed, remembering how Harry had saved her. He was so strong, and handsome, and his arms... she sighed. She couldn't wait to meet her saviour, but she was worried he wouldn't even remember her. How many girls had he heroically saved? Maybe she wasn't anything special.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	11. Chapter Eleven: Meet Your Son

Draco hurried down the corridor, ignoring the greasy haired man beside him. He swatted at the billowing cloak as it flew into his face as they stepped outside, the strong wind causing it to flap around wildly. Scowling, he strode off towards the whomping willow, ignoring his Head of House's, "Draco!" and sidestepping the arm that had reached towards him. He underestimated, however, the extent to which the older man was willing to go to, and failed to avoid the body-binding spell that came his way.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Snape had muttered, watching with some level of satisfaction as the blond boy face-planted onto the wet grass. He walked over to him calmly, bending down and rolling him over. He scoffed at the glare he received in response. "Draco, I am going with you. If you refuse to take me wherever it is you are going, I will return to the Headmaster and report everything to him. I'm sure everyone will be fascinated to know that the Dark Prince is lurking somewhere nearby." Seeing Draco's panicked look, he decided to release him, knowing full well the boy would do whatever necessary to protect the one he called 'friend'. Draco clambered to his feet, making a show of brushing all the wet grass off of him and scowling at the wet patches that had formed on his clothing during his temporary acquaintance with the floor. When he was done, the boy scowled fiercely, looking into Snape's eyes for a while before nodding once, turning around and continuing to walk towards the willow. Snape followed, knowing the boy would not try to deceive him and leave him behind again.

Reaching the willow, Draco summoned a stick with a lazy flick of his wand, directing it towards the knot in the tree trunk. Upon contact, the willow froze, its frantically swinging limbs crawling to a stop. Ignoring the surprised look he got, Draco strode confidently forward, clambering down the hole. Snape followed, wondering how the blond learnt of the secret passageway the willow contained.

The walk to the shrieking shack was long, but silent. Draco was nervous, wondering what he would tell Harry to not only explain the events taking place inside, but also the presence of his teacher beside him. Snape simply saw no need to talk, but couldn't help but feel fear of his own. Having read of the many deaths the Dark Prince was responsible for all of which, besides the Longbottoms, where Death Eaters much like himself, he couldn't help but entertain the idea that he was walking to his death.

Reaching a trap door, Draco swallowed nervously, steeling himself. He reached up and pushed the door open, clambering up into the space above. He briefly contemplated kicking the trap door shut on Snape's head, but the man in question emerged before he could do so. The professor looked at him, raising an eyebrow and smirking as though he knew what he was thinking. The somewhat smug expression was wiped off his face, however, by the stunning spell that hit him from behind, blasting him forward into hitting his head on the ground, bending him so he was hanging over the hole in ground, unconscious.

"What the _hell_ is going on?"

"Hello to you too, Harry."

**xxx**

"I don't trust that kid."

"James!"

"No Lily, he's right. I don't trust him either."

"Do you trust any of your relatives?"

"I trust you."

Tonks flushed, hair changing to a flaming red at what Sirius had so casually said. They weren't close as she was growing up, only really connecting once she was old enough to join the Order. To hear him so flippantly state that he trusted her meant more than he knew.

"What are we going to do about him, once the readings over?" Mad-Eye inquired, focused on Dumbledore to examine his response. The old man sighed heavily, weighed down by the decision he had to make.

"If Draco's opinions on whether or not Harry should stay with Voldemort change by the conclusion, he shall go free. He could be crucial in bringing Harry over to us with little conflict. If not..." Here he looked conflicted, downcast. "He shall be obliviated."

"Albus!" Molly gasped, aghast. "Surely there would be another way-"

"I'm afraid not."

"Are you going to obliviate all of us then?" Charlie inquired. "Alastor and I don't agree with your views on the boy, you gonna wipe our minds too?"

"Charlie-" Arthur started, only to be cut off by the Headmaster.

"You shall not be obliviated." He stared directly into the younger mans eyes. "Though I wish you agreed with me, and didn't want to harm Mr Potter, you also intend to capture him and bring him to us. Any further intentions you may have will not occur, you shall not be allowed to harm him."

"Try and stop me." Moody practically snarled, anger coming off him in waves.

"I won't have too, if what Narcissa has told me can be believed." Dumbledore's eyes twinkled as he looked away, signalling an end to the conversation. It was cruel to leave them all hanging, he knew. They had to be curious as to what he meant by his cryptic final words. But, an old man had to have a few secrets to remain mysterious. After all, he couldn't tell them how Narcissa had reassured him not to believe that Harry had killed the Longbottoms. While the woman refused to tell him what exactly had occurred, despite his multiple attempts to pry, he believed her when she said Harry wasn't responsible for the Longbottom's death.

Lily and James exchanged cautious glances, seeming to communicate with their eyes before Lily nodded and James sighed. "Dumbledore, before we continue my wife and I need to have a private conversation with Sirius and Remus."

"What about me?" Damien asked, offended that he wasn't to be included.

"Damien, they probably need to discuss something you're not supposed to know!" Hermione hissed, scandalised by Damien's attitude.

"They're probably going to talk about Harry without me and that's not fair. He's my brother too you know!"

"Damy, you're not going to want to be involved in this conversation, and your mother and I are not going to let you. No-" James held up a hand to silence his son who had his mouth open in preparation to protest. "I mean it Damien." Damien fell back from his rigid posture, accepting defeat. He knew that for once his father wasn't going to be budged from his stance.

"Dumbledore?" Lily looked to the old man, who nodded his acceptance. She, along with James, Remus and Sirius, swiftly marched to a separate door located at the back leading to another room. It had formed the moment James had said 'private conversation' and Lily marvelled once again at the rooms magic.

Once inside, Sirius swiftly shut and locked the door whilst Remus simultaneously cast the muffilato charm on the room. Prepared, they turned to face James and Lily.

"I think you know what this is about," Lily began, to a knowing nod from Remus and a somewhat confused look from Sirius.

"It is about Harry, right?" Sirius questioned.

"And about the comments Draco's been making." Remus gravely added.

**xxx**

"So you're telling me," Draco didn't have to look up to know that his friend was looking at him like he was crazy. "That Dumbledore, Alastor Moody, Remus Lupin, the Weasels-"

"Weasleys," Draco weakly corrected to a scathing glare.

" _Weasleys,_ some Hogwarts professor of yours-"

"McGonagall."

" _If you interrupt me one more time I swear-"_

"Sorry."

"Three other Aurors including _Black,"_ here the dark haired boy took on a venomous tone, which, if possible only got harsher as he spat the next few words, "and the _Potters_ are all in a room reading a book about my life along with you and him." He nodded towards where Snape was slumped over on the floor, having ungracefully fallen when hit with the stunner so that the top half of his body was inside the room while his lower half dangled over the step ladder Draco had climbed to get up.

"So's Granger." Draco stated, looking up at his friend sitting next to him on the only bench in the room. Draco had subtly reinforced it with a few spells before taking a seat, the thing looked about one wrong move away from collapsing. Harry sighed, hunching over slightly and resting his elbows on his knees. His hands were held in front of him as if he was praying.

"Who the hell-?"

"A mudblood."

"Why should I care?"

"And your little brother." Draco casually looked around the room, studying the peeling, faded wall paper with disinterest. The windows were boarded up, all the furniture but the bench broken and strewn around the room, making Draco think that Harry may have repaired the bench before he arrived so they could have somewhere to sit. _Where those claw marks?_

" _What?"_

**xxx**

"So you reckon." Sirius started, looking up from where he was sitting on the bench and looking to his best friend, eerily mimicking the pose that his son was in whilst talking to his own best friend. "That Voldemort has done something to Harry to make him hate all of us, and be unconditionally loyal to him."

"It makes sense." Remus stated. "Think about all the comments Draco keeps making, all the 'they'll find out soon,' and 'you disgust me's'."

"Not to mention the glares," Lily added.

"Exactly," Remus nodded at her.

"They're best friends," James said heavily. "Harry would have told him whatever lies Voldemort told him to make him hate us."

"But what could that be?" Sirius asked, swinging his hands up into the air.

"Fake memories?" Lily suggested.

"Too much could go wrong." Remus disputed. "Voldemort would have taught Harry how to differentiate between fake memories and real ones."

"Maybe he told him we abandoned him as a child." James suggested.

"That could be it. No need to create fake memories as he would be too young to remember anyway." Sirius added.

"But then why would he hate Sirius too? He seemed to despise him, remember how harshly he reacted to his voice." Sirius winced so Remus hastily added, "no offence Pads, we all know it's not your fault."

"And he seemed to recognise it, recognise you, just from your voice." Lily nodded along to what Remus was saying.

"Maybe he told him I was involved?" Sirius sounded convinced already that this was the answer. "Bell's got enough bad memories of me that she could have shown Harry to make him recognise my voice and hate me for it. We've fought enough times." His voice was heavy with guilt, but the argument convincing enough.

"Besides," Lily decided to finish the conversation. "Everyone keeps telling us to read the book right? That it will 'provide all the answers.'"

"Dumbledore sure seems to think so." James muttered.

"Unless there's a chance of getting Draco to tell us." Lily queried.

"No." Sirius shook his head firmly. "No, not a chance. I know Cissy, she would've made sure that kid is loyal."

"Oh." Lily smiled, happy that her son had a loyal friend, despite her disappointment at having to wait to find out.

"That's settled then." Sirius stood up. "Lets read the damn book."

"First time he's ever said that," Remus whispered to James as they walked out after their friend.

**xxx**

"Damien."

"Yes."

"My brother."

"That's what I said."

"Called Damien."

"I believe so."

"And why, exactly, did my most loyal friend and confident-"

"I'm your only friend-"

"Not tell me I had a brother before this whole disaster?!"

"Ah." Harry nodded sarcastically at Draco.

"Ah, indeed."

"I was forbidden from telling you."

"By who?"

"The Dark Lord."

"Why would he do that?" Harry looked confused, startling his friend as, for once, he let his blank mask fall away.

"Oh I don't know Harry. He didn't exactly tell me to sit down while he explained the reasoning behind his orders to me!"

"Whatever." Harry rolled his eyes. "I don't care about the Potter brat. Tell me what's happened so far in this book of yours."

**xxx**

Lily settled onto the couch beside her husband, arm wrapped around his waist. She slapped Sirius's hand away as he too tried to sneak an arm around James's back.

"We can begin reading, if you like, Professor." Remus looked at Dumbledore.

"I do think it would be wise to await Severus's return. I do not wish to begin a new chapter without him or Mr Malfoy."

"I don't really think we have the time to waste, Albus." Molly told the Headmaster. "We have jobs to get too, and the children have school."

"Ah." Dumbledore looked mildly embarrassed at the mothers words. "My dear, I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you."

"Tell us what?" Bill held back a groan.

"I've cast an enchantment around the room. For as long as I remain in here, every day in here is a minute outside these walls. We can spend quite the extended period of time in here."

"But, that's a huge spell-" Charlie started.

"Yes, it is quite taxing," indeed, almost as if by admitting to it, the old man seemed to age more. Bags appeared under his eyes and his wrinkles looked more defined. The usual twinkle in his eyes seemed to have dimmed somewhat. "But I do not believe this shall take long. If I require a break we will, however, have to step outside for a day or two and halt the reading."

"As long as you don't try to strain yourself," Molly fussed receiving a warm smile from the Headmaster.

"So..." George drawled. "What are we going to do while we wait?"

"Come on, how long can they be?" Laughed Fred.

**xxx**

"How long is this going to take?" Draco asked his friend as the dark haired boy shot off another stunner that hit Snape, making him slump down with a groan. The man had already stirred twice before, and a sizeable bruise was forming where his head kept hitting the floor.

"Not long, I have to return to father soon."

"I'm not sure that's the best idea," Draco broached the previously discussed subject again with some hesitation.

"I've already told you they're acting!" Harry snarled.

"Well, they're damn good actors then." Draco stood up and halted his friends furious pacing by standing in front of him. "Harry, they seemed genuinely upset with everything. Not only that, but they, and everyone else in the room, keep saying that you were taken from them when you were a year old or something!"

"They're lying!"

"Are they?"

"I remember everything Draco! I had nightmares for years about what they did to me!"

"I know." Draco, for once, was gentle in the way he addressed his friend. He saw how vulnerable Harry looked for once, and it scared him. Even when detailing the abuse he had suffered, his friend hadn't looked like he was affected by the news he was delivering, talking in a cool, detached tone. Speaking of the possibility that the Potters were innocent frightened him, and he viciously rejected the notion. "Harry, I don't question that it really happened. But, maybe the Potters weren't involved."

"They had to be." Harry uttered the words like an oath, so quietly Draco had to strain to hear them. Suddenly he looked up, determination clear on his face. He took his wand out and waved it in the air muttering a spell Draco couldn't hear. A silvery shape floated out of the end of his wand, forming into a fearsome serpent. Harry hissed to it in Parseltongue and it slithered away on air.

"What-?"

"Taking care of my father, at least for a little while-"

"What-"

"I'm coming with you. I have to see this for myself."

"How? If they see you who knows what they'll do? Well, I'm fairly sure Moody's going to kill you, or try to anyway. I don't-" Draco cut himself off and stared astonished at his best friend upon seeing the expression on his face.

Harry grinned.

**xxx**

The underage students looked up from a game of exploding snap they were playing with Tonks as the door opened, the wind the motion created knocking the tower they were building instead of actually playing the game over just as Tonks was placing a card on top. It exploded, singing her eyebrows which she regrew with a sigh.

Snape and Draco entered the room without much flair. Draco, instead of sitting in the armchair he had previously occupied conjured up a small lounge with a lazy flick of his wand and seated himself on that. Snape chose to sit beside his godson rather than with Dumbledore and Minerva as he previously was, and Draco scowled, hissing something to him and gesturing at the couch upon which the Headmaster was seated. Snape raised an eyebrow at the boy as the blonde sighed, flopping back in his seat dramatically.

"Well?" He scowled at the unmoving crowd caught staring at the two. "Are we going to read or not?"

"I'll go." Fred jolted into action, moving the crowd along as he grabbed the book and joined the rest on the couches.

**"Meet Your Son"**

"Guess James finds out then." Sirius mumbled. James and Lily exchanged excited looks, clasping hands as they clung to every word Fred spoke.

**Sirius paced in his room. Dumbledore had left to meet the Minister to discuss Harry. Sirius was left alone while Madame Pomfrey stayed in the same room as Harry, in case he woke up.**

**Sirius was panicking. How the hell was he supposed to tell James about Harry? Why did it have to be Sirius who told James?**

"Because you're the one he's least likely to be mad at." Remus explained.

"Mad because the brat's there?" Snape inquired.

"No." James scowled at the man. "Mad because no ones told me my sons alive yet."

**Sirius had been there the night Harry had been taken by Peter. He remembered James recovering in hospital and how James had fought against the depression that the loss of Harry had brought to him.**

Severus and Draco exchanged a quick glance, Draco raising his eyes and shrugging before Snape looked away again, focusing on the floor yet intently listening to the book.

**Sirius doubted that James had ever gotten over Harry as it was plain to see that James showered the love, which would have been for Harry on Damien.**

Damien looked unhappy at that, something James noticed.

"I love you Damien, even if Harry grew up alongside you I would love you just the same."

"Okay, dad, you don't have to tell everyone." Damien said, embarrassed.

**Sirius sighed again, what would Damien think of this?**

"Exactly why you should have told me earlier."

"Come on Pup, you know its hard for them."

"I know."

**He didn't even know that he had a brother who had supposedly been murdered at the age of fifteen months. And what about Lily! Only a fortnight ago she had locked herself in her room for the entire day, as it was the day of Harry's sixteenth birthday.**

Lily smiled softly. "At least this time we'll have Harry with us for his 16th."

"I pray that we can reunite you by then." Dumbledore smiled warmly at the two parents who had lost so much.

**Damien and James had been away from home the entire day as Damien would get suspicious of the absence of Lily around the house. Lily spent that day looking at photographs of Harry and imagining what her life would have been like with her sixteen year old son.**

"I miss him." Lily whispered softly. "My beautiful baby boy."

"I know love." James whispered back, kissing the top of her head softly. "I'm sorry I wasn't there with you on his birthday all these years."

"We all cope differently." Lily said, looking up at her husband. "I don't blame you for one second for not wanting to be there."

**Sirius sighed and ran his hand roughly through his hair. It was cruel to show Lily and James their son and then to abruptly snatch him back again. Sirius wasn't sure how safe Harry was with them.**

"Probably not at all." Draco muttered to Snape, who smirked before returning his blank mask.

**Fudge could come anytime and take him away. Or Voldemort could come to 'rescue Harry'.**

Snape frowned at the quotation marks Fred mimicked in the air as he said the words 'rescue Harry.'

 **Sirius gave a hollow laugh at the irony of the situation. A long lost son being** **'rescued'** **from his own parents by the enemy.**

"Maybe he does need rescuing from them." Draco snarked. Lily and James looked at him sharply but said nothing, instead exchanging knowing looks with Sirius and Remus.

**Sirius collapsed on his bed and tried to get his racing mind to relax. He couldn't afford to get upset just yet. He had to be cool and collected for, James and Lily's sake. They were going to need his support now, more than ever.**

**Suddenly a sound downstairs caused Sirius to bolt upright in bed. Someone had come to the headquarters. Was it James? Or was it someone uninvited?**

Ginny shifted uncomfortably at the thought of the supposed safe place being invaded. Her tension eased somewhat as Sirius snorted.

"Merlin, I'm paranoid. Who's going to be breaking into the Headquarters?"

**Sirius shook his dark head. 'Get a grip Sirius' he scolded himself. After all this was the headquarters of the Order.**

James tittered at that.

**He gripped his wand nonetheless and made his way downstairs quietly. He was relieved to see Remus Lupin standing in the kitchen looking around for someone.**

**"Oh Remus, thank Merlin you're here!" Sirius quickly made his way over to his friend and could have hugged Remus for the relief he brought.**

**"Why? What's the matter?" Remus was looking at the uncharacteristic look of worry and sadness on his childhood friend's face.**

**Sirius wasted no time and launched into his story about the capture of the Dark Prince and whom it turned out to be. Remus turned paler and felt his legs shake.**

Snape regarded the wolf curiously for a moment or two. Remus didn't appear to be a man that startled easily. Was he scared of some truth being revealed, or relieved by the news?

**He sat down at the kitchen table and let his head drop into his hands. He looked back up as Sirius finished his story.**

**"…and now Dumbledore has gone to see Fudge, Poppy is upstairs with him and I'm supposed to tell James!" Sirius finished helplessly.**

**"Tell me what?" came a voice from behind them and the two friends whipped around to see a very angry looking James standing in the doorway.**

"Oh shit."

"Sirius!"

**"Tell me what Padfoot?" James repeated taking a step toward them. Sirius felt the blood drain from his face. 'Oh crap, why was James in such a foul mood, did he find out already?'**

"You're scared of me?" James asked his friend.

"You don't get mad as easily as your wife mate-"

"Hey!"

"But when you do its terrifying. Generally, Lily will calm down in a day or two-"

Remus nodded in agreement. "Yeah, but you take ages to become approachable again."

Damien was confused. He'd never seen his dad as angry as what Sirius and Remus were describing before. He wondered if he ever would.

**Sirius tried to push down the feeling of panic, as he looked at his best friend and tried to speak in a calm voice.**

**"James! I…I didn't hear you come in." he said, while trying not to stammer.**

**James looked at Sirius and Remus's pale faces. He knew something was wrong.**

**"Padfoot, Moony what's the matter, you look really freaked out." James came into the kitchen and sat in a chair facing his friends.**

**"Oh… nothing just tired, what happened to you?** **You look really annoyed."**

"Why would you remind him about what he's mad about! That's the worst thing to do!" Remus exclaimed.

"Well, excuse me for being somewhat distracted in the moment!" Sirius replied.

**Sirius didn't think distracting him was going to work, but he really needed to calm James down before dropping the bombshell of truth on James.**

**An annoyed look of anger flashed in James's eyes again**

**"That…that Kingsley,**

"Excuse me?" Kingsley looked mildly offended causing James to send a sheepish grin his way.

**I mean honestly he couldn't pick a worse time to annoy me! I mean I just got back from the raid and all he wanted was the damn paperwork completed. He demanded that all the paperwork for each Death Eater captured was completed before I left the office. Can you believe that?"**

**Sirius growled a little. He had asked Kingsley to keep James away from the headquarters but he didn't think Kingsley would anger James in the process. 'Idiot' thought Sirius.**

Kingsley looked at Sirius with wide eyes, earning a muttered yet sincere apology from the embarrassed man.

"I don't like having my thoughts read out." Sirius cursed.

"Oh, really? I have no idea what that's like?" Lily sarcastically shot at the man.

**"So, anyway I've been dying to get back! What happened? Where is he? Did you find anything out yet?" James was watching the reaction of his best friends carefully. With each question they seem to pale even more and diverted their eyes away from him.**

"Ha ha, this isn't going to go well." Sirius scratched the back of his neck.

"No, I don't believe it is." Snape murmured quietly.

**"Um…yeah, he…he's upstairs and um…James I need…need to explain something …to …to you." Sirius cursed himself mentally for stammering so much.**

"Oh just spit it out! The Potter brat lived when you all thought he was dead!" Snape snapped unexpectedly.

"Bugger off Snivelly, its got nothing to do with you!" Sirius replied.

Draco clung to the mans cloak as he looked to reply. "Shut up you mutt," the blonde snarled. "We know more than you think."

"Is that what you were doing then?" James asked. "When you left the room. You were telling Snape what you know about Harry."

"Obviously," Snape drawled.

"Why won't you tell us then?" Lily looked confused. "I thought it was out of loyalty to Harry, but if you're telling Severus then that can't be it."

"Why tell you something you already know?" Draco sneered.

Remus's indignant cry of, "we don't-" was cut off by Fred who, tired of the conflict he didn't understand the cause of, chose to continue reading.

**James looked at Sirius with a confused expression.**

**"Padfoot, what's wrong? The boy is okay isn't he? I mean we didn't do too much damage, right?"**

Snape scoffed quietly, only Draco hearing his reaction.

**James was thinking that maybe they had killed the boy, which is why his two friends were looking so glum. Even if the boy was a Death Eater, killing a sixteen year old wasn't easy on your conscience.**

**"He broke quite a few bones and he's pretty badly bruised, but he's going to be fine. Madame Pomfrey is with him right now" Sirius answered glumly.**

**James cursed under his breath. He didn't like having that on his conscience either.**

"Doesn't make sense does it?" Draco muttered to the tense man sitting beside him.

**"Well I better go and have a word with him then." James slowly rose out of his chair but stopped as his two friends jumped up and grabbed him before he even got to his feet properly.**

**"NO! James, just let him be for now!"**

**"James, he's not in any fit state to talk yet."**

**"What the hell is going on? Since when do we care if Death Eaters are fit enough to interrogate?" James eyed Sirius suspiciously.**

"That doesn't seem very fair." Hermione frowned.

"At least we heal them a little first, Granger. If they catch us, well, lets just say death is the preferred option. If you're lucky its quick." Moody growled.

Hermione gasped, hands flying to her face. "That's awful!"

Damien looked at his dad and Sirius in a new light. He knew there job was dangerous before, but at first he thought injury and death were the biggest risks. Now he knew the added danger of capture and interrogation, increasing his worry.

**Sirius and Remus shared a look and let go of James at the same time.**

"Wicked." The twins whispered, in awe at how in sync the friends were.

**"Okay Prongs, there is something that we need to tell you." Sirius sat down followed by Remus and James.**

**"Sirius! Remus! What's going on? You both are really starting to freak me out."**

**Sirius took a deep breath and looked over at Remus who nodded and placed a hand on Sirius's arm.**

**"James, I am going to tell you something that is going to come as a bit of a shock, but just try to remain calm and…and remember that everything will work out in the end."**

**Sirius watched as James clenched his teeth, 'never a good sign' thought Sirius.**

"Oh come on!" James complained. "I'm not that bad!"

"Yeah, you are."

**"Sirius, I'm warning you, just tell me what the hell is going on!"**

**"It's the boy, the Dark Prince. We know who he is. He's not from a Dark Wizard family, he…he belongs to a Light family." Sirius hoped James would catch on and hopefully save himself from saying the words out loud. However, this was not to be.**

**"Who is he?" James asked in a low voice, obviously intrigued.**

**Sirius shared a look with Remus and then looked straight into James's hazel eyes.**

**"It's Harry."**

**James watched as Sirius said the words but thought he must have misunderstood. Sirius couldn't have meant** **_his_ ** **Harry. That was not possible. It must be some other Harry.**

Snape nodded in understanding. Of course he wouldn't think it was his son, he believed his son to be dead. There was no way the child could have survived in his mind.

**"Which Harry, Harry who?" he asked trying to fight the panic that was rising within him. Sirius looked at James with sympathy in his eyes.**

**"James, it's** **_our_ ** **Harry."**

**James just sat there and tried to digest what had just been said. Before James could open his mouth to question Sirius, there was a cry heard from upstairs. The three men jumped to their feet, wands drawn, and ran to the source of the noise.**

"Oh Merlin! Is it Harry? Is he hurt?" Lily cried, worry rising within both herself and the room.

"It'll be okay. He'll be fine." James reassured her.

**The cry was heard again along with another voice trying to calm someone down. James was the first one to rush through the door, followed closely by Remus and Sirius. The sight they saw made them halt at the door. James saw a young messy haired boy lying on a bed; both hands hiding his face and was crying out in agonising pain.**

"Scar." Snape muttered.

"What was that?" Sirius snapped at the greasy haired man. Snape cleared his throat, looking at Draco quickly and receiving a nod in return.

"His scar must be hurting. Perhaps fa- the Dark Lord has discovered his capture. It would cause him to experience extreme anger."

"I thought it only hurt when he was close to Voldemort?" Tonks stated warily.

"Interesting." Dumbledore mused. ' _Neither can live while the other survives.'_

**Madame Pomfrey was trying to pull the boy's hands away to see what was causing him so much pain. She looked up at the three men as they burst through the door. She locked her eyes with James and she looked a little startled. She quickly got over her reaction and spoke directly to James.**

**"Could you give me a hand here?" she had to raise her voice since the boy's screams were getting louder.**

**James hesitated for a second but strode over quickly and looked down at the raven haired teenager lying before him. The boy's hands covered his face as he gripped his forehead and continued to moan.**

**Poppy looked at James and said:**

**"See if you can get him to lower his hands, I need to see what the problem is."**

**James took another look at the boy and carefully took the boy's wrists in his hands.  
**

Snape looked uncomfortable for a moment at the news that James was touching the boy, but recovered before anyone but Draco noticed.

**He could see they were bandaged and he didn't want to exert too much pressure on them. As gently as James could he prised the boy's hands away from his face. The boy was struggling and didn't want to let go of his forehead but James managed to get his hands away. The boy seemed to be semi-conscious.**

**James' breath caught in his chest. The face that was revealed was exactly as his own younger self.**

"He hates that." Said Draco.

"We know," Lily sadly acknowledged. "Hopefully we'll know why soon."

**The boy's eyes were squeezed shut in obvious pain, so James couldn't see the emerald eyes that were exactly like his wife Lily's. James took in the boy's features and felt his legs go weak. His heart was thumping so hard he felt it was going to bruise his chest.**

**"Harry?" he managed to whisper.**

**His son, Harry, didn't hear him. He was in too much pain. His head felt like it was going to split open. He had tried to hold in the cries of pain but it was no use. His father, Voldemort had never been so angry before. 'He must have found out about my capture' Harry's mind tried to tell him.**

"Oh God," Hermione looked sick as Ginny squeezed her hand comfortingly.

**James watched in horror as his son continued to thrash around in pain and he still had his eyes tightly shut. He saw Harry biting his lip to hold in his cries and James felt his heart break.**

**"Harry! Harry what is happening to you?" James heard Madame Pomfrey say. James was just about to tell her off for asking such a stupid question, when to his shock Harry answered.**

**"My…My scar…hurts!" he said in a hushed voice. It seemed that all the screaming had made his throat hoarse. Harry still hadn't opened his eyes and did not notice James holding onto him.**

**Madame Pomfrey pushed Harry's bangs out of the way and saw the scar, just above his left eye. James looked at the lightning bolt shaped scar on Harry's forehead and felt rage build inside him. Madame Pomfrey placed her hand gently over the scar and heard Harry hiss in pain. James wanted to yell at her to stop but he knew that she was a professional in medicine and probably knew what she was doing.**

Snape and Draco exchanged glances at James's reaction to his sons pain, but neither commentated.

**"You're burning up." she told Harry as she fumbled around in her potions bag. She brought up two small vials. She gently lifted Harry's head and made him drink the two vials. Harry did so without resisting, not that he could, since his arms were being restrained. After a moment or two Harry seemed to relax and drifted off to sleep.**

**"What was happening to him?" James asked as he entered the kitchen with Poppy and the other two men.**

**"Well, I'm not entirely sure. I think that what he has is a curse scar, they are very rare but are known to act up from time to time."**

"It should not cause such extreme pain." Dumbledore mused to the tense room.

**Poppy answered him while conjuring up some tea for everyone. She desperately needed some.**

**"What had caused it to start hurting?" asked Sirius.**

**"I don't know, he was sleeping quite soundly and then all of a sudden he grabbed his forehead and started screaming." explained Poppy.**

"That's awful," Fleur whispered to Bill, who nodded in reply.

**James was still sitting in his chair holding his cup of tea with no intentions of drinking it. His head was spinning and he couldn't get the image of Harry thrashing around in pain out of his head. He didn't even hear Poppy go back upstairs. Sirius came and sat next to him. He took the untouched cup of tea out of James's hand and looked at him.**

**"You okay mate?" he asked while trying to steady his own heart.**

"No."

**James lifted his head and looked at his friend. He shook his head sadly.**

**"No I'm not okay." he looked around and Remus was now sitting in the chair on his other side. James was glad he had been blessed with such good friends. They never left his side, regardless of what the situation was.**

The Marauders exchanged fond smiles. They had found a family within each other, and nothing would break their bond.

**"What do I do now? What do I tell everyone? My own son is our enemy The Dark Prince is actually my flesh and blood! And Lily, how do I tell her. And what about Damien! Oh Merlin this is a damn nightmare."**

'Disappointed he's not dead,' Snape thought. 'Would have been easier that way.'

**James let his head drop into his hands and furiously tried to bite back the tears that were bursting to come out. 'Lily would not be able to take this.' he thought to himself.**

"I can take it," the read head looked at her husband. "I'll be there for our son, just as you will."

**"Prongs you should tell both of them before they find out from someone else." Remus said in a small voice.**

**James lifted his head and looked at Remus.**

**"How? What do I say? This is something that Lily and I have always dreamt about, a miracle that brings back our son**

"Wha-" Snape was cut off by Draco's sharp look before anyone could hear what he was saying.

**but I had never imagined it to ever be like this." James made no attempt to hide the tears that were now flowing freely down his cheeks.**

"Oh James." Lily hugged her husband, holding him close to her as he often did when comforting her.

**Sirius was at a loss at what to do. He had only seen James cry once and that was when Harry was taken away.**

Snape looked deeply troubled, drawing the attention of Mad-Eye and Dumbledore as he shifted uncomfortably. Draco noticed and whispered to him, the man looking up and glaring at the two watching him. They looked away, wondering at what Draco could have told the man when they had both left the room to cause such reactions from him now.

**Sirius tried to comfort his friend but found that James just pushed him away. Remus also tried to comfort his broken friend.**

**"Prongs, he is still your son, that innocent Harry that we all loved and cared about is still alive. He's just been forced to grow up differently and really quickly that's all." Remus said.**

"And he's a murderer." Mad-Eye snarled. Lily hissed furiously but was silenced by James shaking his head.

**James sat with his head hung low. He was trying to make up his mind as to how to tell his wife about Harry.**

**He decided that it was going to be done tonight.**

"Thank you for deciding to tell me as soon as you can."

"I'd never withhold something like that from you."

"I know."

**xxx**

**Harry awoke feeling as if every bone in his body was on fire. He looked around and started to panic as his surroundings were unfamiliar. It took him a moment or two to remember what had happened and how he had ended up here. His insides began to burn at the anger of being captured. He tried to get up but realised that he could barely lift his head before his body erupted in shooting pains, forcing him to lie back down again. He moaned softly and felt his voice crack as his throat felt like sandpaper.**

"That sucks." Ron looked sympathetic towards the other boys pain.

**Madame Pomfrey heard Harry moaning and rushed to his side.**

**"Harry, oh good you're up." she came by his side and started lifting different vials of potions.**

**"How are you feeling now? Probably still sore after that dreadful incident."**

**Harry watched her quietly, amused how she would ask a question and then answer it herself.**

**"Where am I?" Harry managed to croak out.**

**"Don't worry Harry, you're safe."**

**"I need to get back home."**

"Harry, that's not your home."

**Harry tried once again to get up, but lay back down quickly as the pain erupted in his back.**

"Harry!"

**"Just lie back down." Poppy laid a gentle hand on Harry before he tried to get up again.**

**Harry gave up his futile attempt to get up and instead gave in to Poppy's fussing. He looked around the room. It was very bare with nothing more than the four-poster bed that he was currently lying on, a two door wardrobe in the far corner, a small desk and chair and a small sofa next to the fireplace. He asked once more.**

**"Where am I Poppy?"**

**"You are currently with Sirius Black in his home." Poppy replied trying not to meet Harry's eyes.**

**Harry felt the anger bubble in him once more.**

Sirius looked hurt at his Godsons reaction, but brushed it off. He knew it was due to whatever lies Voldemort had told the boy.

**"I need to get away from here, please Poppy, you have to let me go."**

**Harry tried pleading with her since he knew he was in no fit state to do anything else.**

**"I am sorry Harry, but you cannot travel anywhere yet. Just try and rest and then we can speak about this later, Okay."**

**Harry nodded his head and tried to close his eyes and sleep but the anger was still burning within him. He was in an enemy's house, at their mercy.**

"Oh Harry, we're not going to hurt you." Fleur pleaded with the book, getting a strange look from Snape.

**'This is not good!' he thought as he fell into an uneasy sleep.**

**xxx**

**Lord Voldemort sat on his throne, but looked very different than he usually did. His body was not held high but was crouched low. His head was hung and he seemed to be in a deep mantra.**

"Wow."

"That's... what?"

**Bella stood not too far away with silent tears running down her cheeks.**

"Bell doesn't cry..." Sirius looked uneasy at the news.

**She kept on repeating to herself under her breath 'please let him be okay, please, please don't let them harm my Harry, please'.**

"He's my Harry you-"

"Lily."

"Yes, yes okay James."

**Lord Voldemort lifted his head and looked directly at the Death Eaters in his chamber. He eyed Bella and Lucius angrily and then instantly repeated his mantra to calm himself down. It had taken a good twenty minutes to calm himself down. He didn't want to let his anger hurt Harry again. Merlin knows what kind of state he was in. He had lost his temper when Lucius had told him that the Order had hurt Harry gravely. Injured his son! Lord Voldemort had never felt such rage.**

"Plan's all falling to bits, hey Voldy?" Sirius looked pleased to focus on Voldemort's anger rather than his cousins sadness.

**He spoke to both Death Eaters, who stood glumly in front of their master.**

**"You know what I want, you know what to do. Do not show your miserable faces to me until it is done!" Lord Voldemort ordered them with quiet venom.**

**"Yes Master." came the reply in unison.**

**Lord Voldemort stood and left for his private chambers. He would not lose Harry, not now. Whatever the cost, Harry had to be back with him and he had to be back soon.**

Snape sighed contemplatively as Fred finished the chapter, what he already knew and this new information he was being presented with at war with each other.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	12. Chapter 12: Second Chance

Snape stirred, forcing heavy eyelids to open. Looking around the blurry room, he attempted to recollect how he got there. Where was he? His eyes scanned a path around the room focusing, inexplicably, on the claw marks embedded deep within the run-down walls.

 _"Snape!"_ A distant voice called, barely recognisable. It grew louder, more demanding, more persistent the longer he stared at the marks on the wall.

_"Snape! Stop!" A hand grabbed his arm, startling him from where he stood, frozen in terror._

_Yellow eyes glowing menacingly in the darkness, white teeth bared in a snarl._

_"Snape move!" He snapped his gaze away from the snarling beast, from_ Lupin, _towards the voice. Black hair, glasses glinting in the low light. Pale face. James Potter._

_"He- he's a- "_

_"Move dammit!" Tugging him, he stumbled. The creature gaining ground on them, faster than they were. Stronger. They wouldn't make it._

_"Come on!" The other boy pushed him ahead, moving surefooted in the dark tunnels where Snape stumbled. Flashes of red descended from his wand, hitting their pursuer. It howled. It did not falter._

_"Climb!" Hands pushing him, he clawed his way up through the hole, the red light continuing to flash, lighting his way._

_The other boy tumbled out after him, slamming his hand on the knot at the base of the tree. The Flailing limbs froze as they were._

_"Snape look at me!" He didn't._

_"You can't tell!" He did. Didn't he? He should. Others had to know. Lily- he had to warn Lily-_

_"Look at me!" A wand pointed menacingly. Potters face set like stone. "You won't tell."_

_But this wasn't right. Potter he didn't – he didn't have green eyes-_

Snape shook off the last effects of the confoundus charm. He was in the Shrieking Shack. He had been stupefied by Potter. He was tied up, rope wrapping around his hands and securing him to a bed post that seemed more stable than it should. Probably repaired, _just for him._

A body-bind kept him fixed in place – wait. A shiver encompassed his body as the spell abruptly wore off. Snape flexed his fingers to check. The Dark Prince, incapable of casting even the simplest of charms. ' _Perhaps he's not quite as powerful as we fear.'_

Snape looked around the room again, taking in his surroundings now that his mind was clear. The room was bare of any other occupants, Draco was missing too.

_'That little-'_

**xxx**

A quiet murmur filled the room, excitement thick in the air. Finally, the book was beginning to give them results. Future James had just had his first reaction with his son, as admittedly one-sided as it was, and spirits where high. The framed photograph of Harry clapped and giggled, seeming to respond to the state of the room.

Molly stood, whispering a quiet reassurance to her husband when he looked to her in concern, before making her way to where Professor McGonagall sat. Speaking quietly with the woman and the Headmaster beside her for a moment, Molly appeared to come to. A decision and made her way across the room to Lily.

James and Lily sat in quiet discussion, voices barley above a whisper, well aware of Damien watching them intently from across the room. Unable to hear them, he appeared to be giving lip reading his best shot, barely blinking and stubbornly refusing to be pulled away into discussion by Hermione. The girl scoffed, before turning instead to Ginny to discuss the now known identity of her mysterious saviour.

Molly walked slowly towards the younger woman, taking in the sight of her. She seemed to be warmer, lighter, as though a great weight she had forgotten she carried had been lifted off her shoulders, leaving her in peaceful relief.

 _'The wonders the miraculous return of a dead son can do.'_ Molly shook her head slightly, wiping sardonic thoughts from her mind. As she passed her own daughter, she hesitated, hearing Hermione whisper furiously,

"You don't really have a crush on a guy you've never really met? Do you?"

From the corner of her eye Molly saw her daughter go bright red. Resolving herself to speak to her later, as a discussion right now would do nothing but embarrass her in front of her friends, Molly continued on her way. Arriving before Lily, she cleared her throat, smiling gently. "Lily dear" She began, "I believe it's time we sorted bedding for the night, don't you?"

Seeing the other woman glance hesitantly over her shoulder to where she came from, she clarified, "I've already discussed it with the Headmaster," here she glanced over her shoulder at the man, seeing him deep in discussion with Alastor Moody, nodding along to whatever the other man was saying. Both were gazing intently at Draco. Or was it Snape who held their gaze? Molly felt a flare of anger at the men, Mad-Eyes reaction to the texts coming to her. _'Harry is just a boy!'_ She pushed her anger down, focusing back on Lily. "Albus says that we can spend the night in here, as he doesn't wish to lose much time on the outside. However, he believes that in a few nights time we may all have to go back outside, so he can recuperate."

"It's a bit early isn't it." Sirius seemed incapable of not joining into a conversation that didn't involve him. Molly scowled. "We've only been here a few hours!"

"Yes, but they've been aa rather draining few hours, haven't they?" Lily stood, pressing a gentle kiss onto her husband's expecting lips. "Perhaps we shall get something ready, then see if the others are feeling up to reading another chapter?"

"That sounds perfect," Molly smiled. Lily clasped her hands together.

"Well. Let's see what this room can do."

**xxx**

"They're looking."

"I know."

"Still looking."

"I'm aware."

"They're still- "

"Draco shut up about it!" Harry hissed at his blonde friend. "And stop fidgeting," he ran a critical eye over his friend's posture. "It's no wonder they look suspicious with you acting like that."

"Speaking of looking- "

"Don't say it."

"Right." Draco leaned closer to his friend, preparing to ask him what exactly their plan of action was. Harry hadn't shared many details, sending him to look for Polyjuice potion (" _I'm not a bloody elf!" "Just go.")_ and adding his Godfathers hair to it upon his return. Luckily enough, Hogwarts's corridors had been mostly deserted, and gaining entry to Professor Potter's potion storage cupboard was relatively simple. Transforming into the greasy haired Professor, Harry had shrugged the man's cloak on over his own clothes and gestured for Draco to lead the way back. Draco doubted that he had thought this through, his friend had simply ceased to listen to reason after hearing about his biological family. Draco was somewhat glad for this, Harry needed to see their strange reactions himself in order to cast judgement. It just wasn't adding up…

Draco opened his mouth to ask Harry if they ought to step outside when he saw it.

"Harry-"

"What did I just say?"

" _Harry, your hand."_

Harry glanced down at it, cursing silently. The skin was beginning to bubble, his hour was up. Aware of the persistent gaze of the grizzled old Auror, Harry stood as slowly as he could. His instinct screamed at him to leap up and _run_ from the room, but he resisted. This would draw even more unwanted attention to himself. He needed to get out of the room. He needed to get away. Harry strode over to the door, sliding his hand into the pocket of the robes he was wearing and wrapping it around his wand. Gipping it tightly he swung the door open, prepared to make an escape should he be stopped. No one moved, save for Draco who followed closely at his heels. Harry exited the room, allowing the door to swing shut behind him by itself.

"Where do you think you're going?"

_'Shit'._

Draco didn't look down at the hand gripping his arm, instead watching with trepidation and despair as the door swung close on Harry's heels, black cloak swishing from the room. Steeling himself, he turned to face Alastor Moody, the man scowling down at him.

"I rather thought that was obvious." He replied, nodding towards the door. "I was following Professor Snape."

"He didn't ask you to go with him, kid." Mad-Eye leaned in close, hissing, "and I don't think that was Snape."

**xxx**

Snape cursed. He had no way of knowing how long he had been trapped in the room. His arms ached, the constant sawing motion he had undertaken in a futile attempt to wear his bonds down with friction taking its toll. _Back and forth, back and forth_ he went, taking stock of the room as he did. His eyesight seemed to be slightly blurry in parts, unable to focus properly on the darkest corner of the room. Muttering under his breath about the incapability of a certain _wizard_ he continued his scan. He looked forlornly at his wand, placed beside the broken mirror as it was. If only he could summon it to him, instead of being stuck like a helpless muggle as he was.

He didn't know how long he had before the Dark Prince returned, if he was even planning too. Snape had no way of knowing how much Polyjuice the boy had access to, his only consolation being that he needed to be kept alive for his hair to be of any use to the boy. Snape had come to the conclusion some-time after awakening that the reason for his current position was that his identity was being used by another. The absence of his cloak was what gave this away, the absence of Draco being what led him to believe Polyjuice was in play. Normally, the Dark Prince would have just cast a powerful glamour, but Draco would have warned him of the room's occupants, and their abilities. He would not risk Mad-Eye being able to see through a glamour. He didn't allow himself to be hurt by Draco's apparent betrayal of him, focusing instead on how he would get vengeance once he was released.

 _'If the boy's identity is discovered, would they come for me?'_ He didn't hold out hope for this. Dumbledore had been weakened by the spell he cast over the room, and Mad-Eye was distracted by rage. Besides, the Dark Prince was clever, he would not allow himself to be caught changing forms. _'Hasn't it been established that the boy's magical presence is able to be detected by even the most mediocre of wizards, though?'_ Snape frowned, sawing his arms faster. _'Perhaps Draco told him of this possibility, and he masked it.'_ Difficult, but not impossible. Anger flared within him at the thought of his Godson. _'Ungrateful little-'_

_SNAP_

The bonds holding him in place gave way suddenly, Snape falling forward from the unexpected action. His head hit the ground, bouncing from the force. With a defeated groan, he slumped into unconsciousness once more.

**xxx**

Lily walked with Molly over to a corner of the room. It was near the desk Draco had been frantically scribbling some 'Potions' work, apparently assigned to him by Snape for some extension. Lily didn't doubt he'd go to that man rather than herself for extra work, however it hurt more than she cared to admit. Especially now she knew of his connection to her son…

"How did you do this before?" Molly snapped Lily out of her daze. "With the kitchen." She clarified.

"Right." Lily looked uncertain. "I just… asked?"

"We'd like some rooms… Please?" Molly looked uncertain of herself, seeming to find the prospect ridiculous. A door appeared quite suddenly in front of the women, startling them into jumping. Lily reached out and turned the knob.

"Shall we?"

They entered through the door, into a corridor. Thirteen doors branched off from the corridor, six evenly spaced down each side with the final door placed at the end, directly opposite the door they just entered. Lily opened the first door on her right, peering in to see it was a reasonable size, containing two single beds within. Molly did the same with the door on her left, revealing a room of the same size with a single queen size bed inside.

"Let's count?" Lily asked.

"Right".

Finishing at the end and opening the door, Lily added the single queen bed inside to her count. Molly joined her.

"Six queen beds, one per room."

"I had three rooms the same as that, the other four all had two single beds per room." Molly nodded.

"Must be for the kids."

"So that'll be…"

"Fred and George to a room, Hermione and Ginny, Ron and Damien, Charlie and Percy."

"Draco can have a room to himself I suppose?" Lily asked. "A single queen bed? That two adults would have to share a room with the single beds…" Molly looked uncomfortable, like she was preparing to broach a subject she didn't like.

"Well, I thought Draco could take one of the single beds in a room, and we could leave the other one for..."

"For?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Well… for Harry. Should he ever join us." Molly rushed. "I'm sorry, it was aa stupid idea- "

"No." Lily beamed. "Molly thank you." She embraced the other woman, tears beginning to burn in her eyes. "That means so much to me, that you would- "She cut herself off, clearing her throat. Molly pulled back to look her in the eye.

"Of course, dear. Besides," she smirked, "perhaps one day he will be my son-in-law."

"Don't start planning the wedding just yet." Lily thought back to the hate Harry apparently had for them. She shook her head. "But you're right, he would want to share with Draco, if anyone."

Molly began walking to each room, pointing it out and calling out who would be in each. "That leaves Minerva in this one, Kingsley in this, then Severus, Sirius, Arthur and myself, Bill and Fleur, you and James of course, and…" she hesitated by the last room, gazing at the single queen bed that lay innocently within. "Remus and… Tonks?" Lily smiled.

"Well, it's about time something happened."

Happy with their choices, the two women left the corridor. Spotting a gathering at the other side of the room, they made their way over, passing the children fighting for a spot nearby ( _"Guys, we shouldn't get involved" "Come on, Hermione!"_ ). Lily reached the group, frowning as she took in the sight before her. Draco, his arm tightly gripped by Moody, was scowling fiercely at the man as he hissed at him.

" – don't think that was Snape."

" _What?"_

**xxx**

Harry shed the cloak he was wearing as he strode down the tunnel towards the Shack, running his hand through his hair and cursing. He needed more answers, but there wasn't time. The longer he pretended to be the greasy hair Professor the more dangerous the situation grew for him. He had to return to his Father, and hope his absence wasn't noted. As he walked, he thought on all he had learned. The Potters reactions certainly weren't what he thought they would be, and yet, they didn't seem to be- no. They were acting. That's all it was. A show put on for the sake of their youngest son, among others. What had Draco said his name was? Danny? No. Damien. That was it.

He had tried not to look at the boy for long, not wanting to draw attention to his curiosity. They looked similar, not identical – the kid took after his mother more – but had similar features, and the same black hair. Damien's hair was straighter than his own untidy mop, and he had his fath- Potter's eyes. The kid didn't look unhappy, he seemed healthy enough. _'But why would they treat him differently to how they did me?'_ Harry was confused. Did they not want him? Was he so despicable? What was wrong with him? ' _Although,'_ he thought, ' _he wasn't sitting with them.'_ Was it because he was uncomfortable in their presence, or because he preferred the company of his friends?

Harry climbed through the trap door into the Shrieking Shack. He took in the state of the Hogwarts Professor. He looked to be in a deep trance, muttering unintelligibly to himself, glazed over eyes darting around the room. Harry sighed. Taking his wand out, he rapped it over his own head casting the Disillusionment Charm. With a sensation akin to having an egg cracked over his head, he disappeared, blending seamlessly into the darkest corner of the room. He banished the effects of the confoundus charm and watched as the man in front of him instantly sharpened, beginning to take his position into account. Rolling his eyes, Harry cancelled the body-bind he had placed upon the man. Snape sneered slightly, no doubt thinking him incapable of casting a proper charm, before beginning to saw his arms back and forth.

 _'Muggle'_ Harry sneered to himself, watching the man struggle. He watched as the man looked around the room, looking over him as though he wasn't there. His wand was right across the room, next to aa broken mirror and he looked at it miserably. _'Incapable of casting magic without a wand. What has my Father's forces come to.'_ Harry was rapidly losing patience, aiming his wand at the bonds holding the man in place and non-verbally casting a diffindo. Let him think he had managed to escape on his own.

_SNAP_

The bonds broke, and Snape came crashing down hard. His head bounced as he hit the floor. Letting out the most pitiful noise, he slumped over into unconsciousness. Harry wrinkled his nose in disgust.

_'Idiot.'_

**xxx**

_"What?"_

Draco scowled at his cousin. ' _Must they get involved?'_ The pink haired witch took no notice of him, however, aiming her question at the man holding his arm. "Mad-Eye, what are you talking about?"

"Yeah." Draco rolled his eyes, groaning internally. "And let Draco go, would you?" Sirius had joined in, leaping to the defence of his youngest relative. He didn't know if the protectiveness he felt had always been there, or if it was because of said relative's connection to Harry.

"I don't need your help." Draco paced away from the grizzled Auror once released, never removing his eyes from the man.

"Yeah, you do. So, shut it." Draco shot a glare at the man, startling when he noticed the crowd that had gathered. ' _Brilliant.'_

"I was just saying," Moody glared at Sirius, "that whoever that was," he pointed to the door Harry had just departed from. "Wasn't Snape."

"And who else would it be?" Lily looked exasperated with the man. He was yet to be forgiven for the comments he had made about her son, and likely never would be.

"Potter."

Silence, before;

"Don't be ridiculous – "

"Oh, come off it!"

"Really Mad-Eye!"

"-Think I would know if my own son- "

"Honestly why would he even come here!"

Draco slinked backwards in the crowd. He said nothing, happen to let the outcry around him silence the suspicious man. He stopped when Dumbledore stepped forward, a twinkle to his eye.

"Silence, please." The old man looked around at the faces in the room. "Settle now." He smiled bemusedly at Mad-Eye. "Alastor, whilst I do not believe that Harry himself would be able to get onto Hogwarts ground so easily, I do agree that something was wrong with Severus. As we discussed before," he peered over the top of his glasses at the man. "I was unable to detect any magical presence from Severus whatsoever. A fact I would normally deem suspicious. However," here he appeared to grimace slightly, "this may be because I myself am not quite as… aware as I usually am."

"Albus, who else could it have been?" Mad-Eye grumbled.

"It could have just been Snape, you paranoid old man!" Fleur spoke up from under Bill's arm.

Draco raised his eyebrows, surprised by the outburst. He was not to know that Fleur had joined the ranks of the Women-Determined-To-Mother-Harry and was not taking kindly to the man before her who seemed insistent of finding blame in everything the boy did.

"He's got you all fooled already," Mad-Eye warned surly. "You're all just pawns in his game." The corner of Draco's lips quirked up in a slight smirk before he regained his composure.

_'Finally, someone's making sense.'_

"– won't be fooled," the Auror was still speaking. "And if you know what's good for you- "

_BANG_

The door swung open, Snape hurrying through and closing it. He straightened his robes, looking as though he had run all the way to the room from wherever he had come from. Mad-Eye grabbed him, swinging him around to smash his back against the wall, wand jammed up against his neck.

"Who are you?" He growled.

"Severus Snape"

"Don't lie!"

"I'm not." Snape practically hissed.

Veritaserum flew into Moody's hand. He dangled the bottle in front of Snape's eyes. "I'm sure you wouldn't object to us making sure of that then?" Snape shot daggers from his eyes towards the man, but nodded his head, almost imperceptibly, all the same. He took the bottle from Mad-Eye, and, still with the wand pointed at his mouth, placed three drops into his mouth.

"Who are you?"

"Severus Snape."

Moody released the man. "And where exactly have you been?"

"You know where I've been." Snape answered, not looking at the man as he straightened his robes.

"Are we done here, Alastor?" Kingsley rumbled.

Mad-Eye looked to the man, his magical eye whizzing in his head towards the back of his skull to keep Snape in his sights. "We're done."

**xxx**

Snape shot up from his position on the floor. Leaping to his feet, he donned the cloak now at his feet. _'The Dark Prince must have returned.'_

Panicked, he grabbed his wand and leapt down the trapdoor. In his rush, he failed to recognise the presence of a memory charm in his mind. Rushing through the corridor, he stumbled, just as he did all those years ago. Pursued, this time, by a different monster.

He ran from the tunnel, stopping only to freeze the killer tree before he took off. Racing through the corridors, he sharply took the turns, making his way back to the room. He entered the door banging shut behind him, faced the crowd of expectant faces, opened his mouth to speak and-

Wait.

What was he going to say?

Pain flared up his back as he was swung into the wall. A wand held at his throat he was forced to take Veritaserum. Identifying himself with some confusion he refused to show, he answered the Auror's question of where he was to the best of his ability. _'Where was he? He had been in the room the whole time, hadn't he?'_

Snape didn't register the occupants moving around him, moving to take his place on the couch. Minerva sent him a look of confusion as he joined her, seeing as he had been next to his Godson before, but didn't question it.

' _What had happened?'_

**xxx**

Lily went over to where her old Headmaster stood, talking quietly with Arthur Weasley and Kingsley. Arthur smiled at her when she arrived, quietly excusing himself and going to join his wife, who was herding her children over to the corridor that had appeared to show them their rooms.

"Headmaster, we have everyone's rooms organised, would you mind…?"

"Lead the way, my dear." Lily smiled, gathering everyone to join Molly and the Weasley brood. Draco sulked over, having been fetched by Sirius. The man kept a hand at Draco's back to prevent him from walking off, and the boy kept eyeing it fearfully when he thought no one was looking. Lily frowned at this, resolving to speak with Sirius about it later.

"We have everyone's rooms sorted. Fred, George, Ron, Hermione, Damien, Ginny and Draco dear," Molly smiled at the group. "Would you follow Lily; she'll show you where you'll be staying. I'll show the rest of you to your rooms." There was a murmur of agreement, the one's whose names were called heading over to where Lily stood. Sirius gave Draco a gentle push, and the boy joined them, hanging back a bit. Lily showed the children to their rooms one by one, finishing with Draco. She pushed open the door, letting him take in the two single beds inside.

"Who am I sharing with?" He sneered.

"No one. Well, not yet anyway." Draco raised an eyebrow in question, so she clarified. "We thought that maybe Harry might want to sleep in here with you, if he ever joins us while we are reading."

Draco pushed down the panic he felt She didn't know. "Why would he want to do that? He can't stand you." Lily looked upset.

"I wish you would tell us why."

"You know why."

Lily opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Remus's voice.

"There's not enough rooms!"

"Course there is Moony!"

"Sirius, there's only one bed in here!"

"Guess you'll just have to share with my dearest cousin, won't you!" Sirius laughed. "Hey, keep your paws to yourself, you hear?" Tonks turned bright red as Remus launched himself at the man, Sirius dancing out of the way. Lily sighed, going to break up the brewing argument and explain to Remus that yes, he was just going to have to share.

Draco looked back at the second bed contemplatively. He wondered if Harry would ever join them, as himself.

**xxx**

"Right then." Arthur eased himself onto the couch with a sigh. "How's one more chapter sound, then bed?"

"But we're not tired, really." Damien stifled a yawn. James looked at the boy in amusement.

"Well, I'm exhausted. So, this will be the last chapter for now, alright?" Damien nodded his head.

"I'll read," Fleur picked the book up from where it had been lying, abandoned on the table next to Harry's photo. She cleared her throat and began.

**"Second Chance"**

**James sat holding hands with Lily, watching her try to digest the truth. Lily had sat in complete silence as James had told her everything that had happened that day.**

"I'm glad you told me. I would have been furious if you made me wait even a second longer."

**Damien had been flooed to the Burrow and told that he was to spend the rest of the summer there with the Weasleys.**

Fred and George looked like they wanted to speak but were interrupted by a fuming Damien.

"Speaking of furious…"

"Damien. It's harder to tell you than it is your mother."

"Why?" Damien looked furious. "It's not fair, he's my brother!"

"Well, you didn't even know he existed dear." Molly cut in here. "It would be harder for you to understand, and harder for them to tell it."

**Damien would normally have been ecstatic at this news, since he always complained that he was bored during the summer and that he should spend most of it with the Weasleys.**

"Thank god for that!"

"Why, don't you have enough brothers Ron?"

"Yeah, but I've always wanted a little brother Hermione. Err," he looked hesitantly at his sister. "No offense Ginny." Ginny scrunched her nose up, but said nothing.

**However Damien could tell that he was being sent to the Burrow because something was wrong. He had tried to ask his tired and very crabby dad what was wrong but just got told that he was expected at the Burrow that very night so he had to leave immediately.**

Damien crossed his arms. It wasn't fair.

**Lily was glad that James had sent Damien to the Burrow. She could not have dealt with him asking awkward questions at this moment.**

Damien looked up at his mother, trying to see it from their point of view. He supposed he would have asked a lot of difficult questions…

' _Like, oh hey, why didn't you tell me I had a brother? Isn't that something I should know?'_ No, Damien was still mad.

**Lily had tried not to let the news that her son, Harry, was alive overwhelm her but soon found that she was fighting a losing battle. Harry was alive! Her son, who she had spent every waking moment remembering, was actually alive and she would be able to see him, touch him and hear his voice once more.**

Draco frowned. That didn't make any sense. Why would they miss Harry? They hated him. Didn't they?

Lily nudged James, nodding her head at the confused blonde. Sirius and Remus peered over too, the four exchanging glances. Why did Draco look confused when he heard this. Surely, he would know that a mother would miss her child…

**Lily felt her prayers had finally been answered and thanked Merlin for this day. Lily was not even letting herself deal with the issue of _who_ her son had become. The Dark Prince!**

The reminder was a sombre one. Harry had done so many horrible things. Harry had killed people! Frank and Alice… It wasn't fair. Hadn't the Potters been through enough.

**Lily sat holding hands with an exhausted looking James who had tears in his eyes and was looking down at the ground while finishing his story.**

**"I want to see him." Lily whispered to him after he had finished.**

"Oh yes!" Lily exclaimed. "Please let me! I want to hug him and speak to him. Oh, I want to know everything about him! What's his favourite colour- "

"Lily- "

"It's green." Startled heads turned to Draco. "Slytherin green." The words did not appear to have been said out of spite, the information genuinely offered to the parents. Draco himself looked confused by his actions, conflicted. Lily offered the boy a warm smile, pleased, but knowing not to push for more.

**"Lily, We can go and see him tomorr…"**

Sirius scoffed. "Good luck, mate."

**"No! James I want to see him now!"**

**"Lily, Hun, he won't be awake right now and he…well he won't talk to us." James said the last part with a heavy heart.**

_'Why do they care? What game are they playing?'_ Draco looked at the parents sitting on the couch together. _'They're all alone, and yet they're still acting… are they acting?'_

He cursed Harry for leaving when he did. This was something the boy needed to witness with his own eyes.

**"How do you know that? Maybe he has calmed down now! I don't care James I want to see my son." Lily had tears streaming down her flushed cheeks but her voice was steady and strong.**

**James gave in and nodded his head in agreement. Both parents got up and made their way to the headquarters of the Order.**

"Oh, here we go." Percy whispered to Charlie, who nodded grimly back.

**Madame Pomfrey was exhausted. She had finally managed to get the injured teen into a comfortable position. She was just about to tuck herself in on the sofa in the room, when she heard muffled voices downstairs.**

**"Honestly, you would think they would have the sense to keep quiet, the poor boy has only just gone to sleep." she muttered to herself.**

James and Lily winced slightly at that. They hoped they didn't wake Harry.

**She got up and walked hurriedly to the door and pulled it opened as quietly as she could. She had only taken one step out of the door when she was confronted with a very red eyed and angry looking Lily Potter, followed by James Potter. Poppy was good friends with Lily since they both worked for Hogwarts.**

**Poppy looked at Lily with sympathy. She didn't even want to imagine what the poor woman was going through right now. To be given back your son after fifteen odd years and under such distressing circumstances. Lily didn't even have to open her mouth, Poppy just put a hand on her shoulder and stepped aside.**

**"Just try not to wake him. He only just managed to go to sleep."**

"Thank you, Poppy." Lily whispered, clutching James's hand in her own. He squeezed it tightly in return, knowing exactly what she was going through.

**Lily forced a small smile then nodded and gave Poppy a thankful look.**

**Lily opened the door quietly and stepped in. She looked at the sleeping teen on the four poster bed. Her breath seemed to hitch up in her chest. Lily took small tentative steps toward the sleeping form of Harry. She had imagined thousands of times what Harry would have looked like if it wasn't for that fateful night. She had always come to the conclusion that Harry would have been very similar to James. As a child Harry had James' messy black hair, his cute nose and his lips. Never could she have imagined that Harry would be the spitting image of James.**

James exchanged a grin with Sirius and Remus. He loved hearing that his son looked like him.

**James had come in the room as well but was still standing at the door. He watched with tears in his eyes as his wife stood over their son. Lily had longed for this moment, had dreamt of it for almost fifteen years. James wished that the circumstances had been different so that they could take their son home.**

' _That's it.'_ Draco thought. ' _I need answers.'_ Hesitant to disturb the peace of the room, he resolved to question the Potter's after the chapter was finished. The Slytherin just had to know their side of the story. Although, he had a feeling it would bring more questions than answers.

**James still hadn't heard from Dumbledore after his meeting with the Minister and that had to mean bad news for Harry.**

**Lily watched how slow and peaceful Harry's breathing was. She greedily took in his face, his features, his messy hair, the way his chest rose and fell with the rhythm of his breathing. He looked so peaceful and deep in sleep that Lily couldn't have awakened him, even if she had wanted to. She sunk to the floor whilst keeping her green emerald eyes on her son.**

"Oh Lily," Molly smiled at the girl. "I'm so happy for you."

**"Harry, oh my, Harry." she silently wept while still gazing at him. Images of Harry as a baby flashed through her mind as she cried. Harry, when he just born, Harry at the age of three months, Harry when he first started crawling, Harry at the age of nine months when he first said 'Dada' and 'Mama', Harry on his First birthday party surrounded by everyone that loved him, Harry at the age of fifteen months when he was cruelly taken away from his parents and his home.**

"What?" Draco snapped, drawing everyone's attention to him. "This book isn't real. It can't be real. None of this is real!" He stood from the couch.

"Draco, please- "Albus rose with him.

"NO!" Draco screamed. James and Lily exchanged panicked glances. "This isn't real! They're liars! They've messed with the book somehow! They don't want the truth to get out!"

"Draco sit down _please-_ "Albus was cut off by James.

"Tell us." The man stood, followed by his wife. "Tell us what you think is the truth. Draco opened his mouth, intending to spill it all,

"No." Dumbledore's voice was strong, steady, commanding. "No." He turned to the frustrated parents. "Everything will be revealed in time. But please," he turned imploring eyes towards them. "It cannot be revealed before then." Lily and James looked ready to argue, Damien preparing to stand and join in, when Remus tugged them back to their seats.

"Just let it go." He whispered.

Dumbledore turned to the blonde. "As for the authenticity of this book, well…" he smiled. "Your mother gave it to me." Draco stumbled back to his seat; mouth open in silent shock. Dumbledore nodded to Fleur, who resumed.

**James walked over and helped his wife up from the floor and held her tight in his strong arms, whispering comforting words in her ear.**

**The two parents stood in the room silently crying over the discovery of their son, crying over the joy that seeing him alive had brought. But they also cried at what the possible future would bring. They both sat silently next to the bed. They were so unsure of the future, but they were determined that they were not going to waste the present. James and Lily spent that entire night just watching their son sleep.**

Lily smiled at James, who kissed the top of her head. It seemed a dream, a wish they hoped would come true soon.

**xxx**

**Harry awoke suddenly**

"Oh, a look into Harry's mind," Fred grinned. "My favourite."

**and it took him a couple of minutes to determine what had awakened him. He heard the clatter of dishes in the distance and the sweet smell of breakfast wafting to him. It was coming from downstairs. Harry looked around to find that Poppy was nowhere to be seen.**

**"She must have left in the night." he murmured to himself.**

**Harry closed his eyes again and took a deep breath. He felt a lot better than he had felt last night. He slowly opened his eyes and pushed himself off the bed. His feet touched the floor and Harry carefully pulled himself onto his feet. His ankle still hurt**

"Well don't walk on it then!" Ginny scowled. "Honestly!"

**but he knew that it would take a few days of drinking 'muscle replenishing potion' along with other potions, to bring down the bruising, before it would be back to normal. This wasn't the first time he had broken anything.**

"Oh." Tears burned in Lily's eyes, a lump building in her throat. "Oh, my poor baby."

**His back ached as he tried to stand straight but Harry ignored it. He knew that most of the members of the Order were probably away or having breakfast so now was the best time to slip away.**

"Don't you dare, you little shit." Alastor growled, Charlie smirking a=over at him in agreement. He couldn't get away.

**He painfully made his way to the door and slipped it open. After looking in both directions, and seeing no one around, Harry quickly made his way to the stairs. Harry was feeling the pain in his back worsen with each step but he ignored it. Harry put his foot gingerly on the first step and strained his ears to hear if anyone was around. He couldn't hear anything to suggest that he had company. He couldn't give up now. His ankle throbbed painfully as Harry put his weight on it. He reached the landing and took a cautious look around. He could hear some voices coming from a room on his right but the door was firmly closed, so he was safe. The landing was deserted. Harry quietly made his way painfully to the front door.**

"That's too easy." Tonks frowned.

**'This is too easy.' he thought**

Kingsley chortled a bit at that, Tonks looking smug.

**as he neared the main door. Why was no one watching over him and why were there no guards placed here at the front door?**

**'Maybe it's because they don't expect me to walk out the main door.' he thought to himself.**

"Oh! Of course!" Tonks shook her head, disappointed in herself. "He won't be able to get past the wards without an Order member with him!"

"What does that mean?" Damien asked.

"Yeah," Hermione added. "What will happen when he tries?"

"Oh no." Bill looked worried as Lily gasped, James going pale. "He'll get thrown back."

**Harry was now only inches away from the front door. He stopped and listened for any sounds alerting him to any possible approaching footsteps. Harry let out a ragged breath and made to open the door.**

**However, his hand had barely reached the silver door knob when an invisible force slammed into Harry and the already injured teen was thrown violently back.**

Fred and George cringed dramatically, although no one paid them any mind.

**He slammed into the opposite wall and crumbled onto the hard floor. Harry let out an anguished moan as he landed on his already aching back. He lay there for a moment, taking small harsh breaths, so as not to aggravate the pain in his ribs.**

"Oh Harry."

**Before Harry had a chance to get up he heard a voice just beside him.**

**"I should have warned you about that."**

**Harry looked up and found a very bemused looking Dumbledore**

"Bemused," James snarled. "He's injured, Dumbledore!"

"Well it's always amusing to watch the enemy fail."

"Charlie!" Molly looked scandalised. He just shrugged, turning from her to focus back on the book. Lily looked outraged, fury building within her at the Weasley. Arthur frowned, resolving to talk with his second eldest.

**and a few Aurors, standing a few paces away from him. Harry growled a little, Albus Dumbledore was the last person Harry had wanted to see right now, especially in Harry's current state. Harry bit his lip to stop himself crying out in pain, as he turned around onto his hands and knees.**

**Dumbledore watched as the injured teen tried to stand up and all the while glare at him. He watched as Harry winced and put a hand gingerly to his side.**

"Help him!"

**Dumbledore wanted nothing more than to go over and help him, but he knew what the outcome would be.**

"He's too proud for his own good." Lily murmured. Snape sneered at this. _'Potter pride,'_ he thought.

**Instead he stood silently and waited for Harry to find his feet. Only once Harry had stood up completely, and was now holding his head high, did Dumbledore speak again.**

**"This entire house has some very powerful wards in place Harry, only a member of the Order can come and go as they please, everyone else has to be escorted." He finished as the glare coming towards him was so strong Dumbledore was sure it had to hurt.**

**"Come Harry, let's go and sit down as I am sure you must still be recovering from yesterday." Dumbledore said with a little guilt in his voice. He did not approve of Sirius's plan to trick the boy**

"Hey! It was the best idea we had!"

"Not anymore."

"Yeah, alright, alright."

**and he certainly didn't think very highly of four spells on one boy.**

"I don't think anyone does, Albus." Minerva looked over her glasses at the man.

**"I'm not going anywhere with you!" Harry spat at him. His voice was still rough from his dry throat.**

**Dumbledore looked at Harry sadly. It hurt the age old wizard, how much hatred was directed towards him.**

"It's only to be expected I suppose. Tom would have raised him to despise me above many others. Fear does terrible things to oneself."

**Dumbledore opened his mouth to try and calm the angry teen down, but before Dumbledore could say anything Harry walked slowly towards the foot of the stairs and began climbing them.**

**"Harry, don't you think we should talk about the circumstances that have arisen?" Dumbledore asked gently.**

**Harry turned his head around and glared at the headmaster.**

**"I have nothing to say to you and I don't want to hear any rubbish from you either!"**

The rooms members looked shocked at the blatant disrespect Dumbledore was being shown. Hermione's hands flew to her mouth as she gasped, James and Lily looking slightly uncomfortable. Draco rolled his eyes, and Damien gave a little smile.

_'He's so cool.'_

**At once the three Aurors standing behind Dumbledore raised their wands at Harry.**

"Oh, come on!" Tonks said. "Bit of an overreaction, isn't it?"

**Harry looked taken aback for an instant. The look of fury on the Aurors faces was unnerving. Moody, Kingsley and Arthur**

Arthur looked surprised to hear his name being spoken in such a situation, Kingsley looked accepting and Moody vindictive.

**had never heard anyone speak to Albus Dumbledore in that manner. Dumbledore however raised his hand and motioned to the Aurors to lower their wands. Dumbledore had expected this from Harry. Harry at once turned and left without another word and slammed the door to his room.**

**Dumbledore returned to the dining room, with the three Aurors following, his head bent low, caught in thoughts of how he was going to get through to the angry teen.**

"Good luck." Arthur snorted. "Angry teenage boys can be quite stubborn when they want to."

**Harry had no choice but to return to his bed. He gingerly sat on the end of the bed and let out a deep sigh. He was in trouble now. Any time now the Ministry would come and make his arrest. He would probably be in Azkaban by tonight!**

"Never." James swore.

**He had to get out of here, but how? He was not ready to face the wards again. He didn't think he would be able to get back up again. He was brought out of his thoughts by someone knocking and entering his room. Harry opened his mouth to hurl abuse but stopped when he saw Poppy enter, looking a bit tired. Harry managed a weak smile when he saw her shriek and come running towards him.**

The students exchanged looks, knowing how Madame Pomfrey could get when you were injured.

**"Harry! What in the name of Merlin are you doing up? Lie back down this instant!"**

**She pushed Harry under the covers and started fussing over him.**

Lily bit her lip. ' _I wish it was me.'_

**She checked over him and once she was done, listing all the injuries that were still worrying her, she sat back on her chair, looking exhausted.**

**Harry sat up in bed and smiled at her.**

"Interesting. Maybe Poppy could help us when the time comes," McGonagall stated.

**"Finished are we?" He asked**

**"Yes" came a weary answer.**

**"Good. Now tell me how am I going to get out of here?"**

"You're not." Moody grumbled.

**Poppy looked over at Harry with sad eyes.**

**"Harry, please, you know you can't leave."**

**"Poppy, you don't understand. I can't stay here. It's not safe for me.**

_'Yes, it is!'_ Fleur wanted to scream, but kept the thought to herself, reading on.

**If I don't leave now, by tonight I will be in Azkaban." Harry stopped so that his words took effect.**

**Poppy looked really uncomfortable, she was wringing her hands and kept shooting worried looks at Harry and then at the door. Finally she got up and walked over to him.**

**"Harry, if it were up to me then I would help you.**

"She can't be trusted." Moody stated.

"I trust her with my life."

"That's good for you, Albus. But she can't be trusted with this."

**I owe it to you. But the fact of the matter is that even I can't help you leave. I'm not a member of the Order yet so I can't escort you out."**

"If we do employ her help, it should be before she is inducted into the Order." Kingsley stated. "That way her position will remain as it is in the book."

**She looked at the sad face of the injured teen and felt her heart break. She knew that Dumbledore didn't want Harry to come to any harm but did Dumbledore have the authority to save him from Azkaban? She would rather not think about it at the moment. Instead she pushed the bangs away from his forehead and smiled sadly at him.**

**"I am truly sorry, Harry."**

**Harry merely shrugged at her and stared at his hands in his lap. He would have to come up with a different plan.**

"Or, you could just accept it. Just a thought."

"Hush, Fred."

"Shove it, Percy."

**xxx**

**Dumbledore sat with the members of the Order around him. Most of them had been eagerly awaiting his return to find out the fate of Harry. All Dumbledore could tell them at this point in time was that the Minister would get back to him regarding Harry's fate. Tonks and Molly were still trying to clear away the breakfast dishes,**

Molly smiled at the other witch, thankful for her help.

**while Arthur was busy talking with James, Sirius and Remus. Dumbledore sat speaking gently to Lily who still had red, puffy eyes and seem to be now sitting in a daze. Moody and Kingsley were sitting in one corner, apparently lost in their own thoughts.**

**Lily looked around her as Dumbledore left her side to speak to Molly. She sat thinking hard about what Dumbledore had said to her. He was trying to reassure her that Harry would come to no harm. As long as Harry learnt the truth about whom he is and who Voldemort is, then Harry would surely come back to the Light side.**

_'Is that so?'_ Draco pondered. ' _We'll see about that.'_

**Lily didn't particularly care about this right now. Her main focus was to go upstairs and see her son. She had been practically dragged from the room by James so that she could rest. She slowly got up and started preparing a plate of breakfast.**

"That might not be the best idea, love."

**James saw this and stood up to come next to her.**

**"Lils, I don't think he…"**

**"Don't, James. Please just don't." Lily said in an emotional voice.**

James looked at his wife. _'Okay,'_ he thought. _'I've got you.'_

**James stopped talking and instead put a reassuring arm around Lily's waist. He gave her an understanding smile and reached over to pour some pumpkin juice in a glass for Harry.**

James looked pleased with his future self's actions.

**Both parents headed out of the door while everyone else in the room sat quietly, not really knowing how to react. Moody growled a little and then went back to his quiet thinking. Everyone else decided to ignore the 'breakfast in bed' situation and went back to what they were doing.**

Moody shook his head in disappointment at James. _'He should know better.'_

**James and Lily made their way quietly up the stairs. Both were nervous to speak to Harry. They stopped outside his door and gave each other a nervous look. They pushed the door open, but stopped, as both their hearts had just missed a beat. They saw Harry sitting up in bed talking to Poppy.**

**"What's in this one?" Harry was saying as he held up a small vial containing a black coloured potion.**

**"Wings of dragonflies, crushed beetle legs and..." Poppy started.**

**"Okay, don't tell me."**

Laughter sounded in the room.

**"Then why do you ask?"**

**"Just curious."**

**Harry gave Poppy a cheeky smile as he downed the black coloured potion in one gulp. He gave a dramatic shudder.**

**"Eugh, I hope you realise how awful that was." he said looking at Poppy.**

"All her potions are awful," Damien sighed.

"Yeah, I reckon she does it on purpose." Ron shuddered.

"Everything's a conspiracy with you two, isn't it?" Hermione shook her head at them.

**Lily and James couldn't help but smile. This was the first time that Lily had heard her son's voice. She was momentarily taken back at how similar it was to Damien's voice.**

"Wicked!"

**James had of course heard Harry's voice before but it was always in a confrontational tone. This was the first time he heard Harry speak in a somewhat normal tone.**

**James and Lily had opened the door and had now stepped into the room. Poppy and Harry both turned to see who had joined them. Poppy gave both, James and Lily a bright smile, but Harry's expression darkened and after glaring at both James and Lily he looked away from them.**

James and Lily looked upset, but did not speak.

**Poppy noticed Harry's reaction and quickly excused herself, saying that she had to rush downstairs for a moment. Harry didn't even look at Poppy, as she hastily left the room. James and Lily were both feeling immensely uneasy. Harry didn't even look at them. He continued to gaze at his own hands which were lying in his lap. Lily took a brave step and allowed her shaky legs to carry her over to the bed. James followed her reluctantly.**

Sirius crossed his fingers, hoping that it would all go well. He knew, however, that it wouldn't.

**Lily put the plate of food on the bedside table and looked longingly at Harry. The raven haired boy didn't even spare her a glance. Now that Lily could see Harry's eyes she felt her heart swell with happiness. 'He definitely has my eyes!' she thought to herself.**

Lily mustered up a smile at that. It fades quickly from her face. The tension was building in the room, everyone anticipating a negative interaction.

**James had joined Lily at this point and placed the glass of juice next to the plate of breakfast.**

**Lily couldn't hold herself back any longer. She reached over and tried to touch Harry's face. Harry flinched away from her and threw her such a dirty look that it made Lily take a step back.**

Draco nodded, having expected such a reaction. The hurt look on Lily's face made him do a double take, though. She seemed so confused…

**"Harry! What's the…" Lily was cut off as Harry ripped the bed cover away and pulled himself out of bed. He stood and glared at Lily and James.**

**"Harry, please lie down you're not completely healed just yet. You'll hurt yourself." James tried.**

**"Quite disappointed aren't you?" Harry said and Lily was visibly shaken at hearing the venom in Harry's voice.**

"What?"

**James looked at his son in shock.**

**"What do you mean?"**

**"Didn't really expect for me to survive did you!" Harry exclaimed and this time Harry had a strange gleam in his emerald green eyes. It looked almost as if there was some hurt mixed in with the rage that was burning in his green orbs.**

"Oh, baby, what has he told you?"

**James and Lily both were stunned by Harry's accusation.**

**"Harry, how can you say that? You know what happened was an accident, I would never have attacked you if I had known that you were my… "**

"I don't think," Remus stated, looking at Draco expectedly. "That Harry's talking about his capture. James and Lily exchanged a worried look, one Draco caught and, unfortunately, misinterpreted.

 _'Worried the truth will be discovered, no doubt.'_ He seemed, momentarily, to forget about his mother's involvement in the whole thing.

**James faltered here. He still couldn't bring himself to say that Harry, the Dark Prince, responsible for so many deaths and torture, was his son.**

"James! How could you! He's our son, no matter what he's done!"

"I know, Lily it's just hard- "

"No dad." Damien cut him off. "How are we supposed to get Harry to accept us if you can't even accept him?"

"I- "James looked to Sirius, helpless. The other man shrugged, and James sighed as Fleur continued.

**Harry was now staring at James with so much loathing that Lily had to look away from her son.**

**"Just understand this Potter! I am not you son. You son died many years ago. I am Lord Voldemort's son."**

Lily bit her lip, avoiding the concerned faces in the room. _'He just doesn't understand is all.'_ She wrapped her arms around her middle, offering comfort to herself.

**Lily and James were speechless. They had expected Harry to be rude and difficult to speak to but they had not prepared for such hurtful words. Lily and James both took a tentative step nearer the furious boy.**

**This time Lily tried to speak to him.**

**"Harry, please listen to us. I know that you must be really angry and confused right now but you must understand. We are your parents. V-Voldemort isn't your father." Lily tried desperately.**

"Please baby." Lily whispered brokenly.

**Harry turned his icy glare towards Lily and spoke directly to her.**

**"You may not think so, but in all essence he is my true father. He is the one who brought me up. Just by bringing someone into this world does not make them a parent."**

**Harry smirked inwardly as he saw the tears appear in James and Lily's eyes. It felt good to show them their place. Without saying another word to either of them, Harry made his way painfully over to the en-suite. He slammed the door closed to the bathroom and sunk to the floor. He didn't really need to use the bathroom. He just wanted to get away from the Potters.**

Lily gasped, her lip trembling as James wrapped her in his arms. Damien looked to the floor, Hermione grabbing his hand in comfort as his eyes burned. His parents may have let him down, but he hated to listen to the way they were being treated. He hated watching them suffer.

**Lily and James sadly made their way out of the room and down the stairs. They went into one of the rooms and tried to comfort one another in a vain attempt to mend their broken hearts.**

**xxx**

**Moody watched as Dumbledore engaged in a conversation with Arthur and Kingsley. His magical eye had whizzed to the back of his head and saw the Potters reach the bottom of the stairs and go into the room adjacent to the kitchen with miserable looks. He knew that Harry was now alone as Madame Pomfrey was also busy giving instructions to Remus and Sirius on what potions Harry was to continue taking.**

Remus and Sirius exchanged startled looks. Neither had a child, and neither felt prepared to take on such a huge responsibility. Babysitting was all well and good but… they both hoped that the James and Lily of the future would receive instructions as well.

**Moody got up and left the room discreetly.**

Frowns crawled over everyone's faces. This wasn't good.

**He had arrived outside Harry's room in a matter of seconds.**

"Stay away from him," Lily hissed.

**Moody knew what he had to do and he was prepared to go to any length to succeed. He opened the door and stepped inside, locking the door behind him.**

**Harry snapped his head up to see Moody stump into his room. For a moment Harry had thought it was the Potters again. Harry threw Moody another glare and went back to staring out the window. He was currently sitting up in his bed. He ignored Moody until he sensed the Auror standing over him. Harry sighed and tore his gaze away from the window.**

**"What!" Harry snapped at Moody.**

"Oh Merlin."

**Moody didn't respond. He was staring at Harry as if restraining himself from strangling the boy sitting before him. Instead of speaking to Harry, Moody reached into his robes and brought out two items. One was his wand and the other was a small vial. Harry eyed the wand apprehensively before turning his gaze to the small vial of potion. He looked disbelievingly at Moody and asked him.**

**"You really expect me to drink that willingly?" Harry mocked Moody, knowing full well that he shouldn't anger the crazy Auror.**

"Harry!"

**"You can drink it willingly or I can force you!" spat Moody, barely able to keep his hands steady from suppressed rage.**

"What is it?" Ron asked.

"Veritaserum." Tonks answered grimly.

**Harry felt the anger inside him reach boiling point. He once again, climbed out of his comfortable bed and stood face to face with Moody.**

**"Think you're a great powerful Auror because you can exert force on an injured teenager. You had to tie me down before you even tried to hurt me, so excuse me for not being remotely afraid of a coward."**

Lily moaned in despair, James looking up to the heavens as if it held the answers he was looking for.

**Harry kept his voice down, even though he wanted nothing more than to scream abuse at this Auror. Moody was shaking now with anger. He leaned forward so that his face was barely inches away from Harry's.**

**"You'd better be careful with that mouth of yours boy. I'm not like Dumbledore. I'm not going to let you speak to me in that tone. You may be James's son but to me that makes no difference. You're a bloody heartless murderer and that is how I am going to treat you!"**

"Don't touch him!"

"Leave him alone!"

"Alastor!"

**The words had barely left Moody's mouth when Moody reached over, and in a flash, he grabbed Harry around the neck.**

Lily screamed, a hex rushing towards Mad-Eye. This time, he dodged, feeling that his actions were justified.

**Harry gasped and at once tried to free himself. He turned around so that he was facing away from Moody and elbowed him in the stomach. Moody gasped as the air was forced out of him.**

"Yes!" Damien hissed.

**He loosened his grip on Harry and the raven haired boy twisted away from him. Once free Harry turned around and focused all his attention towards Moody. The Auror stood up, still gasping for air and saw Harry make a swift hand gesture, Moody felt an invisible force slam into him and he was lifted of his feet. Moody was thrown across the room.**

Draco smirked, pleasure filling him as he listened to his best friend fight back.

**Moody was now positively pissed. He got up and pointed his wand at the boy.**

**"REDUCTO" He bellowed and at once a jet of light left Moody's wand and hit Harry straight in the chest.**

The colour dropped out of Draco's face. The Potters anger crackled the air with its energy, Dumbledore's warning presence the only thing keeping them from attacking their long-time friend. How could he betray them like this? Hurting their son?

**Harry felt himself fly across the room and land painfully on the desk in the far corner of the room. Before Harry could blink away the red spots in front of his eyes he felt Moody's hand grip around his throat again and Harry was forced over to the bed and thrown onto it violently. Harry felt bonds across his wrists and ankles at once, as he was restrained. Harry looked over at Moody with fury. He couldn't blast Moody or protect himself without the use of his hands. He watched helplessly as Moody came nearer to him and opened the vial.**

Lily looked as sick as Draco felt, hearing Harry be abused in such a way. ' _Where are we?'_ She thought, willing someone to come to Harry's aid.

**Harry didn't even have to guess what he was going to be forced to drink. Vertiserum, the truth potion. Harry found himself breaking into a cold sweat. He knew what questions were going to be asked. His father's location and the inner circle members' identities. Harry tried to wrench himself free from the bonds holding him but was unsuccessful.**

Kingsley shook his head. The information would be useful to get, but not like this. Never like this.

**Moody approached Harry and grabbed the teenagers chin roughly as he prepared to spill three drops into his mouth. Harry clenched his jaw tight. There was no way he was going to let Moody give him that potion.**

**"You will drink this boy and you will spill all your nasty secrets about Voldemort!" Moody hissed at Harry.**

**Moody tried to wrench open the boy's mouth but was finding it difficult with only one free hand. In his frustration he backhanded the stubborn boy and tried again to force the boy's mouth open.**

James was searing with rage, his wife and friends doing nothing to temper him. He wanted to _kill_ Moody, wanted to hurt him more than he had ever wanted to hurt someone before.

**Harry felt tears stinging his eyes as he recovered from the slap. Harry's jaw was hurting and felt like it was on fire. His face burned at the spot where Moody had slapped him. However Harry still refused to open his mouth. He was trying to get away from Moody as much as he could. Just before Harry's body gave in and his mouth relaxed slightly the door to Harry's room burst open and a furious looking Sirius came striding in.**

"Thank you, Merlin!" Lily gasped.

**Sirius took one look at Harry and Moody and in an instant Sirius was pulling Moody away from Harry. The Veritaserum was still clutched in Moody's hand. Harry could have cried with relief.**

"Oh Harry."

**He watched as Sirius dragged Moody away from Harry all the while screaming at him.**

**"How dare you Moody! What in the name of Merlin did you think you were doing? Get out from here! Get out!"**

"Thank you!" Lily sobbed, hugging her son's saviour.

**Harry saw Moody fighting back until he spotted James and Dumbledore come into the room. Dumbledore took one look at the state of the room and with a flick of his hand he released Harry from his restrains. Harry quickly sat up in bed and tried to get his thumping heart to calm down. Dumbledore motioned for Moody, Sirius and James to follow him. As they left the room James approached Harry and looked at the raven haired boy, eyes full of concern.**

**"Harry, are you okay?"**

**Harry realised that he was shaking.**

The rooms occupants looked uncomfortable; hearing Harry sound so scared. He seemed so unshakable, so confident. This just cemented in the fact that he was just aa boy, still underage.

The students looked at Moody with fear, the man they once thought of as a protector being seen in a new light. He hurt someone their age without hesitation, and they would be lying if they said it didn't bother them.

**He quickly wrapped his arms around his own shoulders and took a deep breath to stop the shaking. He looked away from James and flinched away from James's outstretched hand.**

"Let me help you, please."

**James looked at his son compassionately and headed out the door closing it softly behind him.**

**Harry collapsed onto his front and covered his face furiously into the pillows. He had never been so angry in his life. Never before had anyone dared to touch him like that. His father had never let anyone hurt him, not even in the slightest.**

The Order members blinked in confusion.

**Harry turned over and lay on his back. He tried to steady his breathing and calm his thumping heart. The truth was that he had never been so scared before. Not scared of being harmed. Physical pain had always been a part of his life, no it was fear of what would have happened if Harry had been forced to drink the truth potion. All of his fathers secrets, his plans, his location everything would have been exposed.**

**'No, I can't allow that to happen. My father must not be jeopardised.' He thought to himself.**

The unconditional loyalty he showed made Dumbledore uneasy.

**His head was thumping and the pain from his ribs and ankle was making Harry feel sick. He rolled over onto his side and let his worried mind drift off to sleep. His last coherent thought was 'I'm not going to let them slip me Vertiserum'.**

"If he starves himself now," James warned, glaring at an unrepentant Moody.

**xxx**

**James was furious with Moody. He rounded on him in the dining room.**

**"What the hell Moody! Why did you treat him like that for?" he bellowed at the Auror.**

**Dumbledore was also looking at Moody through very angry eyes. Moody however did not notice this.**

**"I treated him how he deserves to be treated! He has done atrocious things and I am sorry James if you feel he can be excused because he's your long lost son, but the rest of us have to do what's right!"**

"That's not fair." Sirius glared. "You have no right!"

**At this the room quietened down instantly. James was eyeing Moody murderously and behind him Sirius and Remus were also looking shell shocked at Moody's remark. Lily looked away from them trying futilely to hide her tears.**

**"Moody, I have never said he should be excused, you have no right to accuse me of that. I was friends with Frank as well! I mourn his death too, but that doesn't mean you have to lose control like that."**

"You're too quick to forgive. If he wasn't your son- "

"But he is, Alastor! He's my son! I won't let you hurt him!"

**Moody merely grunted at this and started towards the door.**

**"I'm not the one who has lost any control. You are the ones who are letting a _murderer_ roam around the entire headquarters as if he owns the place!" With that said Moody left the room and headed out the front door.**

**James and Lily were stunned. A murderer, Harry was a murderer.**

Damien shuddered at the thought, and he wasn't alone. Ron and Hermione exchanged looks, Harry was their age, and he'd killed people!

**The entire truth about their son hadn't quite registered with the distraught parents. Harry had no hope in this world. He was going to go to Azkaban. Lily had completely dissolved and was now sobbing hard while Molly and Remus tried to comfort her. James was still left standing at the spot. He was looking at the door with a defeated look on his face. Sirius and Dumbledore managed to pull him and make him sit on a chair.**

**Molly, Arthur, Kingsley and Tonks got up quickly and took their leave, wanting to give the family some privacy. Everyone knew that Sirius and Remus were a part of the Potter family.**

Remus and Sirius smiled softly at this, looking at the distraught Potters. They knew they had to be strong, for them.

**Once they were gone Dumbledore spoke up.**

**"James, Lily, please try not to give up hope. I know this is an extremely difficult time for you but you have to keep strong, for Harry's sake."**

"We will be."

**Sirius looked at Dumbledore. This wasn't right. He shouldn't be giving them false hope.**

"What?"

"I'm just worried Pup," Sirius looked at the boy. "I'm worried Harry will be put in Azkaban."

**It was clear what was going to happen. The Ministry were going to come for Harry, and even Dumbledore wouldn't be able to protect him.**

**"Dumbledore, what possible hope can we have? The Ministry won't leave Harry, you know that as well as everyone else." Sirius said in a defeated voice.**

**Dumbledore simply smiled at them which made the four depressed adults stare at him in annoyance.**

"There better be a good reason for your amusement, Albus."

**"My dear, Sirius, there is always hope for without hope there is nothing. I know you all may think of me as foolish but I do believe Harry will be safe from the Ministry."**

**James lifted his head and looked directly at Dumbledore. Curiosity overtook him and he asked the question everyone wanted to know**

**"Dumbledore, what became of your meeting with Fudge? Why have they not come for Harry yet?"**

**Dumbledore's face broke into a tired smile.**

Everyone looked interested in what the old man had to say.

**"Well the outcome is still to be determined. The Minister is considering some things. He has had reports on how Harry battles, his powers, the unknown spells and the strength the boy possesses. All of this indicates that Harry is special. You all are aware of how the Minister feels about the prophecy. Harry may not be the 'chosen one' in his eyes but he has to admit that Harry is a very powerful wizard with exceptional talents. It is clear that whichever side Harry will be on will have a great advantage in this war."**

"Do you really think he could be convinced to be on our side though, Professor?"

Albus smiled. "I do, Miss Granger."

**Sirius spoke up at this.**

**"About that Dumbledore, any ideas why Harry can do all those things especially at his age."**

**Sirius was of course referring to the strength Harry had shown when he sent most fully grown Aurors flying across the room by a simple kick. Sirius ran a hand across his still bruised ribs.**

"I didn't even think about that." McGonagall looked worried. "How can he do all those extraordinary things?"

**"Well I have one theory. You see Harry is a direct descendant of Godric Gryffindor. That would make him more powerful than most his age. However, with Voldemort…" the room gasped at the mention of his name, "…marking him as his own heir he has made Harry the last descendant of Salazar Slytherin."**

"Woah." Stunned silence filled the room.

**James and Lily sat horrified at this. Their son was the heir to Slytherin.**

"There's nothing wrong with Slytherin." Snape looked offended.

**"Harry is now the heir to two ancestral lines. At the age of sixteen he has strengths and skills that match most grown ups. He has powers that will become legendary when he comes of age. How he uses those powers will depend on whether Harry will accept the truths that await him."**

"Woah!"

**He looked directly at Lily and saw the tears flowing freely again.**

**"Look the Minister will be foolish to just throw Harry into Azkaban. Fudge wants to win this war. He has suffered immensely at the hands of Voldemort. He wants to bring him down and if Harry can help then the Minister will not let that opportunity pass by." Dumbledore finished looking at the sad faces around him.**

"I hope so," James looked down at his hands. "Merlin, I hope so."

**"When do you find out what the Minister has decided?" James asked in a shaky voice.**

**"Soon James, until then try and relax. Get Harry to open up anyway you can. It is imperative Harry realises that we are not the enemy."**

Titters filled the room at this.

"Yeah, Moody really helped with that!" Sirius muttered to Remus.

**"Hmmph! Well Moody gave us quite a helping hand there!" Sirius whispered as Dumbledore got up and made his way out of the room.**

Fleur closed the book and placed it on the table. One by one, the rooms occupants left to get a fitful night's sleep.

**xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Revelations

Damien wandered in a daze over to the room he was to share with Ron. The ginger boy followed, nudging Hermione and Ginny and gesturing for them to come as well. Fred and George looked at him in question, tilting their heads to silently ask if he wanted them as well. Ron shook his head, knowing Damien just needed it to be the four of them tonight. The twins shrugged, entering their room and shutting the door.

The four underage witches and wizards waited in the hallway until the last of the rooms occupants, Dumbledore, closed the door to their rooms. Ron could of sworn the old man winked at them, but couldn't be sure. One by one they entered the room, Hermione closing the door firmly behind them. Damien threw himself face first on one of the beds, burying his head in the pillow and letting out a frustrated scream. Ginny sat on the floor by that bed, reaching up and taking Damien's hand in a show of support. Ron and Hermione sat side by side on the opposite bed, Hermione blushing and shifting away when their things brushed against each other.

"I can't believe," Damien's voice was slightly muffled, so he turned his face reluctantly to the side to face his friends. "I can't believe they never told me."

"Damien," the reluctance was evident on Hermione's face even as she spoke. "They thought he was dead."

"Then I should have been raised with that knowledge!"

"Can't argue with that." Ron shrugged.

"It was a shitty thing that they did." Ginny agreed. "But you can't stay mad at them forever."

"Watch me."

"No." Damien looked at Ron in shock as the older boy spoke. "They're gonna need you to support them, mate. Yeah, they screwed up. Yeah, you should be mad, you deserve to be. But right now it's pretty clear to everyone that your parent's are struggling, probably more than you are. They need you to be there for them, even if you don't want to."

Everyone was silent, taking this in. Damien nodded in agreement, once, before turning and facing the wall, clearly intent on getting some sleep. Hermione and Ginny exchanged glances, rising to their feet and heading to the door. Ron slumped over onto the bed once Hermione had risen. Hermione left first, Ginny stopping with one hand on the doorknob as she went to follow the older girl. She turned back to the room.

"Aren't you like, the King of holding grudged _Ronald?"_

Ron flung his pillow at her without looking, and she ducked out of the room laughing.

**xxx**

Ginny closed the door with a laugh, turning and running straight into her mother.

"Ginny! There you are. I was hoping we could have a talk?"

Ginny frowned. "Sure?" Her mother wringed her hands, nervous.

"Good, good." She gestured behind her. "Did you want to go sit down somewhere?"

"No, sorry mum. Hermione would be waiting for me. Could we do this here really quick?"

"Oh. Oh okay. Well, dear I just wanted to talk to you about... Harry."

Ginny hoped her face wasn't as red as it felt. ' _Damn it.'_

"Mmmhmmm."

Molly appeared to be waiting for her daughter to speak. When she didn't, she elaborated. "Well, it looks like you may be developing... _feelings_ for him." She looked at her daughter, gently tilting her face up to look her in the eyes. "I'm not mad darling."

"You're not?" Molly felt a lump in her throat at the vulnerability in Ginny's eyes, the girl's voice shaking.

"Never." She pulled her youngest into a hug, squishing the girl tightly to her as though she would never let her go. "I'll never be mad at you." She kissed the top of her head. "You make me so proud."

Ginny swallowed. "Thanks mum." Molly pulled back, brushing a hand over the girls cheek.

"Don't go falling for him to fast though." Ginny groaned.

"Mum! I'm going to bed now."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

**xxx**

It was with no small amount of trepidation that the next day began. Sirius was the last to rise, a red-faced Tonks (who wouldn't make eye contact with a certain werewolf) stumbling off to get him before joining the rest at the breakfast table. Draco sat in the middle of his two cousins, stony-faced. He ate little, despite Sirius loading up his plate, and watched the Potter's closely out the corner of his eye.

Damien surprised both his parents by warmly greeting them, hugging his mother briefly before joining his friends. James and Lily smiled at each other, pleased he no longer seemed mad at them. Ginny was speaking in hushed tones to Hermione, retelling the conversation she had with her mother the night before as the older girl was asleep when she entered the room. Dumbledore spoke with Alastor in the corner of the room, an unpleasant conversation mimicked by Arthur and Charlie at the other end. The pairs joined the rest, the conversations remaining, unfortunately, unresolved.

The last bites scraped off of plates, hesitant eye contact was made, the tension in the room rising. Dumbledore rose, the signal for everyone to move. They made their way to the couches, sitting in the same positions as last time. Percy grabbed the book as he passed it, opening to the next chapter before looking at Dumbledore. The old wizard nodded, and Percy cleared his throat to read.

**"Revelations"**

**James turned around to see who had entered the dining room. He saw Lily appear holding yet another plate of untouched food.**

"Damn it, he's starving himself!" James rounded on Moody. "This is all your fault!"

**James sighed.**

**"Still no luck?" he asked in a defeated voice. Lily just shook her head and set the plate on the table.**

"I wonder how long it's been?"

"Hang on, it say's right here," Percy winced.

**It had been three days since Harry had come to the headquarters, and since then he had not touched any food or drink.**

Several people hissed at the news, Draco shaking his head at his friends stubbornness.

**Lily and James would take his three meals of the day to his room and come back with the food untouched. Harry had not spoken to anyone after the disastrous incident with Moody. Harry had confined himself to his room and refused to speak to anyone.**

"Well, this is going well."

"Not the time, Sirius."

**"James, it can't go on like this. It's been three days and he has not had as much as a single drop of water! He's going to get ill and he's not in great health to begin with." Lily was getting hysterical. She had just spent the last 45 minutes trying to get Harry to eat something.**

"Good luck with that. He's a right stubborn prick when he wants to be."

Lily smiled weakly at the blond haired boy's words, upset by the news.

**At first Harry used to respond with 'Leave me alone!' or 'Get out!' but lately he just ignored everyone and just sat on the stone floor of his room. Lily had noticed the dark circles under Harry's eyes and the look of exhaustion on his face but couldn't convince Harry to come over to the bed and lie down.**

"He's not sleeping either!" Lily was in hysterics. "James! What do we do?" James shook his head, mouth agape, at a loss.

**James looked over at her wearily.**

**"What do you want me to do Lily? Do you want me to go upstairs and force feed him? Do you think that's what we should do?" James didn't want to snap at Lily but he knew that the situation with Harry was getting out of control.**

He held his wife close to him.

"It'll be alright." Molly reassured the couple.

"This won't happen this time." Arthur added, taking his own wife's hand.

**When Harry had first rejected his food, James had disregarded the situation by saying 'he will eat when he gets hungry'. However it was three days later and Harry was not showing any signs of defeat and James was getting increasingly worried.**

"He'd rather starve than betray his father." Draco said, horror filling the occupants of the room.

**"Don't snap at me James! This isn't the time to turn on each other. We have to solve this problem together." Lily answered him hotly.**

"I know darling, I'm sorry."

**James let out another sigh and got out of his chair. He walked over to Lily and wrapped his arms around her.**

**"Sorry Lils, but I am just at a loss as what to do about Harry. The Minister still hasn't got any word back to Dumbledore, the Death Eaters are causing havoc trying to find Harry and we have a suicidal teen upstairs who just won't listen to anything we have to say." he finished and both parents sat on the couch and were lost in their thoughts.**

"The situation just keeps getting worse." Kingsley sighed.

**Just then a very worried looking Sirius came into the room. He looked over at James and seem to pale.**

**"Padfoot, what's wrong?" James had instantly sat up at the look of worry on his friends face. Sirius walked over at James and sat down, still looking really upset.**

**"Nothing Prongs, just tired, I guess." Sirius looked determinedly at the ground as he spoke. James was at once suspicious. Sirius never admitted he was tired, never.**

"You couldn't lie if you're life depended on it mate!" James laughed. He stopped at the look on his friends face,

"I could." Sirius whispered. James was instantly transported to that fateful night years ago, a broken and bruised Sirius appearing on his parents porch, shaking ( _I didn't tell them where I was going, James. I didn't tell them)_. Sirius lived with him from that day on.

"Not to me you can't."

"No. Not to you."

**"Padfoot, something's up, tell me."**

"Always, mate."

**Sirius sighed loudly and turned to face his two friends.**

**"Okay, but promise you both won't like freak out and make the situation worse." he looked at James and Lily seriously. They both looked on the verge of arguing but then nodded their heads anxiously. Sirius continued.**

**"Alright, I went in to see Harry after Lily left. I just wanted to see if I could talk some sense into him. However, I kind of noticed that he looked really ill, I mean he could hardly keep his eyes open and he wouldn't respond to anything I said. Not even a 'get out'. So I used the Gondume charm, just to make sure he was healing well and that there wasn't any damage that we were unaware of." he paused here unsure of whether he should continue.**

**"What happened? What did you find?" Lily asked in a hushed tone.**

**Sirius looked at them both and replied sadly.**

**"He's not been taking any of the potions that we have been giving him. There is no trace of any pain relief or muscle replenish in his system and…well he seems to be sleep deprived. It seems he hasn't slept since the first night be was brought here." Sirius finished awkwardly.**

" _Merlin's pants!"_ James hissed.

**James sat with his fists clenched and the look of fury that was in his eyes made Sirius regret instantly the decision of telling him. Lily gasped and was sitting with her hand over her mouth. She has suspected Harry to be having sleepless nights but did not think for a second that he was deliberately depriving himself of sleep for the last three days.**

**Without warning James leapt of the couch and made his way over to the store cupboard. He yanked it open and pulled out various bottles. He finally found the one he was looking for and furiously made his way to the door. Sirius and Lily were both on their feet and were blocking the exit.**

"Not good." Remus looked at his friend. "Someone is about to react badly and make a situation worse."

"When have I ever done that!" James shrunk as not only his wife and friends, but McGonagall and Kingsley looked over at him, _really?_ Written all over their faces. "Okay, good point."

**"James! Where are you going? What are you going to do?" Lily asked while blocking his way.**

**"Something I should have done long before now." James hissed back at her. He tried to go around her but found Sirius blocking him.**

**"Prongs, just relax, mate you promised you were not going to go all psycho."**

"He always does." Sirius shook his head.

**James just pushed Sirius roughly.**

**"Out of the way Padfoot, I've had enough! Who does he think he is, torturing himself like that? I'm going to put a stop to this right now!"**

Draco sat up sharply. The man was angry that Harry was hurting himself, but the words - _I'm going to put a stop to this right now!_ \- what was he going to do?

**With that said James managed to get out of the door and raced his way to the top of the stairs. He rushed to Harry's room and slammed the door open.**

**Harry snapped his head up and looked at the blurry image of James. He had been trying to jerk himself awake for awhile now and his eyes were watering with the effort of staying awake.**

"Well go to sleep then!" Damien groaned, slapping a hand over his eyes in despair.

**He was, once again sitting on the floor with his back to the wall, but not touching it. He had on purposely kept himself in an uncomfortable position, since he found staying awake was now impossible in a comfortable position. Every night he had brought himself, painstakingly to the ground and fought hard against the sleep that was desperate to take over him.**

Groans resonated around the room. _Stupid, stubborn boy!_

**Harry was convinced that no sooner would he be asleep that Moody would force the Vertiserum into him. Harry knew that the truth potion would work even if he had been unconscious. He had managed not to eat or drink anything, including the potions given to him, for fear of been drugged by the truth potion. He was determined not to give up any information, regarding his father. No matter what the outcome was.**

Mad-Eye refused to meet the glares that came his way. The brat was a prisoner, and he needed to be interrogated. He needed to be punished, for what he did to Frank and Ali- for what he did.

**Harry watched as James stormed over to him and roughly yanked him up by his arm. Harry winced at the strong grasp on his upper arm and felt himself leave the floor as James lifted him off the floor and dragged him over to the bed. James violently threw him onto the bed**

"James!" Lily looked agahst, and she wasn't alone. Damien was shocked at hearing his father act that way, having known the man to be nothing but gentle with him. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were struggling to look at the man they all felt safe with. James flinched, unable to meet the gaze of everyone openly staring, appalled by his own actions as they were.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why - I'm sorry."

Draco sneered, feeling that this proved him right. ' _Finally showing your true colours Potter,'_ he thought, watching the man shrink in on himself.

**and held up the small purple potion that Harry recognised as the Dreamless Sleeping Potion.**

**"Drink!" he commanded to the exhausted boy.**

**Harry slowly shook his head. James lost the last of his patience. James forcefully pushed Harry to lie flat on the bed.**

_'Merlin.'_ James gasped, covering his face with his hands. "What is wrong with me?"

**Harry struggled to be free but was overpowered by James. James flicked the potion open and was about to pour it into the teen's mouth when Harry suddenly brought up his hand and knocked the bottle out of his hand. James looked on in fury as the bottle toppled over and the contents spilled over the bed. Lily and Sirius had come through the door at this point and watched the entire scene unfold.**

"Why are we just watching?" Lily cried.

"It's been three days." Remus looked at the despairing couple. "It's been three days." He looked to the rest of the room, settling a desperate gaze on Arthur and Molly. "How would you react?"

Arthur shrugged his shoulders. "If one of my sons hadn't eaten, drank or slept for three days? Pretty similar I believe."

Tonks nodded slowly. "It's shocking for us because we aren't in the situation currently. We're just reading about it, we're not there."

"Exactly." Remus smiled at the woman, looking away quickly as she flushed. He smiled reassuringly at his friends. "Exactly."

"Always the voice of reason, Moony." James croaked.

**James pulled Harry into a sitting position, holding him by the collar of his robes. He shouted at Harry in frustration.**

**"What is the matter with you! Do you have a death wish? Why are you so determined to hurt yourself?" he shouted.**

"Harry _please-"_ James gasped. "Please, don't do this." Draco frowned.

_'Why are they all so damn confusing?'_

**James let go of Harry and raised a hand to rake through his own hair, as he did when he was extremely angry or nervous. Harry closed his eyes in reflex and flinched away from him, obviously thinking that James had raised his hand in order to hit him.**

**James stopped in mid action. He saw Harry flinch away from him. 'He thinks I'm going to hit him!' he thought in horror.**

"WHAT?!"

"Why-"

"That makes no sense-"

"Oh my Merlin, did You-Know-Who -?"

"Oh _Harry_ "

 _'In horror?'_ Draco frowned to himself. ' _What?'_

"You," James pointed a shaking finger at Draco. "Tell me he wasn't abused. Tell me-"

"He can't have been!" Charlie snapped. "The last chapter - _no one had dared treat him like that_ \- that's what he said! You're just overreacting. He's flinching from an enemy."

James dropped his finger away from a pale Draco in shock. Draco couldn't tear his gaze away from the distraught family. _'What in the name of Merlin's saggy left-'_

"I'll just... continue then." Percy awkwardly interrupted the tense silence.

**James' insides jolted at the thought. Even Lily and Sirius saw Harry's reaction and felt their hearts plummet into their stomachs. James slowly lowered his hand and felt all the anger leave him as he looked closely at his son.**

**Harry's eyes had dark circles around them. His lips were dry and chapped, since he had not allowed a single drop of water to pass by them. He was very pale and looked on the verge of collapsing. His breathing was harsh and he had a hand on his side, clutching his ribs.**

James breathed heavily through his nose, eyes closing.

**James' look softened as he took in the terrible state of his son. He spoke calmly to Harry now, determined to show Harry that he honestly didn't mean any harm.**

Draco hated being confused. Why couldn't Harry have stayed for this chapter? How was he meant to explain any of this?

**"Harry, please, you need to understand. If you don't eat or drink anything, especially these potions you will fall very ill." James lowered his voice and spoke softly to Harry, but the teen just ignored him.**

**"If you think that you can blackmail us into letting you go, then you are mistaken. You can starve yourself all you like. I'm not going to send you back to that monster!"**

**At hearing his father being called a monster, Harry looked directly at him and gave him a death glare.**

"Damn it."

**Harry spoke to James in a dry and hoarse voice.**

**"That's not what I'm doing."**

**"What?" asked James, confused with Harry's response.**

**"Blackmailing you, I know you don't care what happens to me." Harry said quietly.**

"That's not true!"

**James opened his mouth to argue but was cut off as Lily rushed over to the bed.**

**"Harry, that's not true! We do care about you, all of us do!" she said as she stood beside James.**

"Exactly!" Lily said. "Oh, Harry."

**Harry lifted his gaze and looked at her with tired eyes. He didn't believe her, it was apparent with the look he was giving to all of them. James tried a different approach.**

**"If you are not blackmailing us then what are you doing? Why are you making yourself suffer?"**

**Just then they heard a shout from downstairs.**

**"Potter! Black! Come down here, we need a word."**

**Moody's voice echoed into the room and James saw Harry tense up at once.**

Mad-Eye looked pleased at the reaction, despite the glares sent his way.

**Harry's eyes darted to the door and his hands clenched into fists. Harry seemed to be shivering slightly and didn't take his eyes away from the door. James was momentarily confused with Harry's reaction. James knew that Harry was not afraid of Moody, but Harry's reaction to Moody's voice alone was causing the teen distress.**

_'Would you look at that.'_ Mad-Eye thought with glee.

**"Harry, what's the…." James stopped.**

**Suddenly it all made sense. Harry's last encounter with Moody, Moody trying to force Vertiserum into Harry, Harry not eating or drinking anything, not even the potions given by Lily. His refusal to sleep, tensing like that at Moody's voice. Harry was afraid that Moody was going to drug him! He was afraid to sleep in case Moody drugged him, was afraid to eat or drink anything, especially potions, in case they were spiked with the truth potion.**

**'Oh Merlin, what has Moody done to you' James thought to himself as anger coursed through him at the memory of Moody's behaviour with Harry. James breathed out slowly to calm his temper before speaking.**

**"Harry, are you afraid that someone will spike your food or drink?" James saw Harry slowly look over at him.**

"Obviously." Fred drawled in George's ear, his twin stuffing a fist into his mouth to keep from laughing aloud.

**James saw the answer in Harry's exhausted eyes. James took a deep breath.**

**"Harry, why would you think we would allow anyone to put anything harmful into your food? You should trust us, we are your parents. We are not going to allow anyone to hurt you."**

Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Like Harry would believe that!

**Harry gave another mistrusting look at both James and Lily. James decided that he needed to show Harry some proof, so that their son could trust them, even if it was just a little. James removed his wand from his robes and at once saw Harry's body tense at the sight. Even Lily was eying James warningly.**

"I'm not going to hurt him!"

"Sorry."

**James ignored both of them and pointed at the door and spoke in a clear voice.**

**"ACCIO VERITASERUM PONDLEY!" at once seven bottles of Veritaserum appeared through the door and landed on the bed that Harry and James were sitting on.**

**Harry looked confused. He backed away a little, unsure of what James was going to do with all these bottles. They heard a gruff cry from downstairs and Moody's voice thundered. 'What is going on here? What just flew out of my pocket?'**

Fred and George sniggered at the Auror having been caught unawares.

**James then pointed his wand at the bottles and muttered another curse.**

**"REDUCTO"**

"Huh." Kinglsey looked impressed. "Good idea."

"It's a waste, is what it is." Snape looked despaired. "Seven whole bottles."

**The bottles smashed and the liquid drained the bed covers. Harry looked at James with surprise written clearly on his face. James did a drying spell to dry the wet covers.**

**"There Harry, now there is not a single drop of Veritaserum anywhere in this house. You can go to sleep completely at ease. There will also be no Veritaserum in anything you eat or drink, including potions. If you want I can do an 'Ingreto' spell on your food so that it shouts out all the ingredients that are in them. That way you can have complete peace of mind." James looked at Harry and almost smiled at the look of surprise on Harry's handsome face.**

_'Handsome face?'_ The thought crossed Draco's mind in disgust, and Ginny's in wonder.

"Handsome face?" Sirius voiced his thoughts aloud. "Bragging much Prongs? Just because you look alike." He snorted. "Handsome face. The ego on you, I swear."

**"Sleep now Harry, you are never going to heal properly if you don't sleep. I will bring up another vial of sleeping potion to help you."**

**James watched as Harry slid down onto the bed. James turned around and pointed his wand again at the door.**

**"ACCIO SLEEPING DRAUGHT" the purple potion zoomed into James's outstretched hand. He turned around to give the potion to Harry but found that the exhausted teen was already fast asleep.**

"Wow."

**xxx**

**Things improved slightly after that day. Harry was making a good recovery, now that he was drinking all his potions and eating small meals in the day. He still didn't eat as much as James or Lily had wanted but it was better than before. Harry still didn't talk much to anyone and stayed in his room. However Sirius had pointed out the library in the Black Manor and Harry had at once raced to it.**

Sirius smiled, pleased that he had done something for his Godson.

**Harry had decided that if he was going to be forced to stay here than he would keep up to date with his reading and studies. James and Lily were so much happier at Harry's behaviour, even though Harry was still as bitter to them as before.**

James and Lily looked sad, yet resigned.

**It had been exactly seven days, since Harry had arrived at the headquarters that the first Order meeting was to commence. Dumbledore had finally got the Minister's final decision on Harry's future and it was to be revealed to the entire Order that night.**

"Here we go." Tonks muttered.

**James and Lily were worried sick, what was going to happen? What fate would Harry have to face? Was there any hope for him?**

"There is, there is," Lily whispered feverently.

**On top of this they were feeling immensely guilty about ignoring Damien. They had only once popped their head in the fire at the Burrow to see if Damien was okay. Damien had been having a good time with the Weasleys' but was still suspicious about his long summer with them. Damien had tried talking to Mr and Mrs Weasley about what was going on but they had been as helpful as James and Lily.**

Arthur laughed at this.

**James paced the floor as Sirius and Lupin watched him with somewhat amusement.**

James growled at his smirking friends. It wasn't funny, he was worried!

**"Prongs, you're going to get dizzy, come and sit down." Sirius joked as James threw him an annoyed look. Lupin chuckled as well but gave James a sympathetic look.**

"And isn't that just their relationship in a nutshell," Tonks whispered to Kingsley, who smirked.

**"They will be here soon Prongs, have patience. I'm sure that if it was really bad news Dumbledore wouldn't have decided to announce it in front of everyone, before telling you and Lily."**

"Why not tell us before everyone? We're his parents, we have a right to know!" James looked outraged.

Dumbledore looked helpless. He didn't have an explanation.

**At this James stopped his pacing and looked at Lupin. He sighed and came and sat down.**

**"I guess you're right, but why he couldn't just come now and tell us before the meeting. I mean we are Harry's parents after all, don't you think we deserve to know the fate of our son before everyone else?" James was raking his hand through his messy hair again.**

"Yes." James looked at Dumbledore pointedly.

**Lily appeared in the room and gave the three marauders a quick, nervous smile. She walked over to James.**

**"Did you tell him?" she asked quietly.**

James looked lost. "Did I miss something." He looked at Sirius and Remus, who appeared just as mystified. "Tell who what?"

**James looked lost.**

**"Um…tell who what?" he asked dumbly. A look of annoyance flashed in Lily's eyes.**

Damien sniggered at his father' apparent misfortune.

**"Did you tell Harry to stay in his room tonight at the time of the meeting?" She asked.**

"Oh."

**"Oh, that, well yes, I mean no, not yet."**

Sirius barked out a laugh while Remus grinned.

**Sirius and Lupin couldn't keep the grins away from their faces. They loved it when James got tongue tied in front of Lily.**

"Really." James stared at them before looking away.

"Well, it did happen a lot in school."

**But then again who wouldn't when Lily's green eyes were burning into you.**

"Really?" It was Lily's turn to stare.

**"James, you said you would, it is only ten minutes before everyone starts arriving. Please go and tell him."**

**"Lils, sweetheart, do you really think it's necessary. I mean we could just lock the door without having to explain anything to Harry, he might not even notice…"**

Lily glared at James, ignoring the sniggers in the room.

**James trailed off at the look of anger on Lily's face and mumbled something about going now and telling Harry before leaving the room.**

Damien laughed outright at this.

**James knocked on Harry's door and opened it to find Harry sitting up on the bed, reading a book about the Dark Arts.**

"Perfect."

**'Perfect' thought James angrily. He would have to have a word with Sirius about the content of the library.**

"Hey! It's not my fault! Basically every book in there is related to the Dark Arts in some way!"

**"Hey Harry, I just wanted to let you know that there is a small meeting today downstairs."**

**"Okay" Harry replied, not even looking up from his book.**

**"It is just some people from the Order and I don't want them to know that you are here just now."**

**"Okay" Harry replied again in a bored voice.**

**"I am afraid I am going to have to lock you in."**

**"Right"**

**"Just until the meeting, after they are gone I'll unlock it."**

**"Whatever"**

**"Okay I'm going to go now."**

**"Right"**

**"I'm locking you in now."**

**"You do that."**

Arthur laughed, turning to James. "You have no idea how similar that conversation is to one's I've had before when my son's are mad at me." James smiled, relieved that it seemed all teenagers acted the same way.

**James could tell from Harry's voice that he was mad at being locked in. Truth be told so would James, if he were to be put into that situation. James closed the door after looking at Harry one last time. Harry had still not looked up from his book. James closed the door with a sigh. He touched the door with his wand and muttered the spell to lock it.**

**James hated lying to Harry, most of the Order knew Harry was here by now, but that didn't mean they were happy about it. Most of the Order agreed with Moody. They thought that Harry should not get any preferential treatment just because he was a Potter.**

"Sorry."

"Yeah, ummm sorry"

"I apologise"

"Oh, I'm so sorry"

"Sor-"

"We get it! Everyone's sorry!"

"Sorry."

**James slowly made his way downstairs, lost in his miserable thoughts. Harry was best to be kept out of the way, for Harry's own safety.**

**When James entered the room, which was to hold the Order meeting, he found that most of the Order had now arrived, except the Weasley family. He gave Lily a small smile and a quick nod to show that Harry was safe upstairs. She smiled back at him. However their smiles were wiped off their faces instantly when the fireplace erupted in green flames and Damien appeared along with the entire Weasley family.**

"Uh oh."

**"Hey Mum, Hey Dad."**

**Damien walked over slowly to his stunned parents and gave them a quick hug.**

**"What wrong, aren't you happy to see me, it's the first time in a week." Damien was looking at the astonished looks on his parents faces. Lily recovered quickly.**

"You better tell me." Damien muttered, unhappy.

**"Of course we are happy to see you. It's just that we were not expecting you, that's all."**

**She quickly pulled him in a hug and planted a kiss on his forehead. Damien just blushed and muttered something about 'not in public'. Lily smiled at him. She had missed her youngest son this last week and was glad to see him again,**

Damien blushed when Ron nudged him, Ginny making kissy faces.

**but she felt nervous as well. Harry was just a few feet away from them and Damien didn't even know about him yet.**

The boy promptly scowled at the reminder.

**She looked worryingly over to James who seemed to be in deep discussion with Mr Weasley.**

**Molly hurried over and ushered the teenagers to the other room.**

"Boring."

"We deserve to know!"

"He's our age!"

"My brother!"

McGonagall cleared her throat, effectively silencing the rabble.

**She took them to one of the bedrooms on the second floor and told them that they were forbidden to leave.**

' _Not fair.'_ They scowled.

**As she left the six teenagers, Fred, George, Ron, Damien, Hermione and Ginny went instantly into a meeting of their own.**

"Oh really?" Sirius smirked.

**"So, what do you think happened this time?" Ginny asked as she and Hermione flopped onto one of the beds in the huge room.**

**"It has to be big, never saw so many people attend a meeting before." Fred was saying as he sat on one of the chairs, while putting his feet up on the table.**

"Fred!"

"Sorry mother."

**"Yeah, well they've not had a meeting for awhile. Maybe they're just catching up with the recent attacks." Hermione suggested thoughtfully.**

**"Nah, this meeting is big." George said with a smirk on his face.**

Many Order members tittered at hearing the youngsters meeting.

**"What makes you say that?" asked Damien who was sitting on the other bed with Ron.**

**"Heard mum talking to dad this morning,**

"Boys! No eavesdropping!"

**she was saying that this meeting was going to 'determine the future' and that 'Dumbledore better know what he's doing playing such a dangerous game."**

**Everyone was eying George as he playfully took a bow.**

**"How did you hear that?" asked Ron looking at his brother with an awed expression.**

**"With these!" George held up something that looked like a bit of flesh coloured string. It was really long and looked like nothing anyone had ever seen before.**

"What's that?" James frowned.

**"Wow, what is that?" asked Damien as he climbed of the bed and came over to George to take a closer look at these things.**

**"Extendable Ears." he said proudly as Fred smiled and winked at him.**

Molly groaned. More of the twins inventions.

**"I slipped these under their bedroom door and heard the whole conversation,**

Molly threw her hands up. Honestly!

**well as much as I could before Perfect Percy came and told me to go away, stupid git!"**

Percy stopped reading. "Hey!"

"What?"

"George apologise."

"Sorry you're a git."

Percy scowled and continued.

**George had a really ugly look on his face now.**

"It does not say that!" George howled.

"Does so!"

"Does not! I'm not ugly!"

"Well, that's what it says!"

"Take it back! Fred stop laughing, we're identical!"

"Wait - take it back!"

"That's what it says!" Percy brandished the book.

"Just read!" Moody growled.

**"But you know you shouldn't have been eavesdropping anyway…" started Hermione but was cut of by the look on Damien and Ron's face.**

"Thank you Hermione." Lily said.

**"Hmm, 'decide the future', 'dangerous game' whatever could they have been talking about?" Ginny asked with a curious look on her pretty face.**

Ginny smirked. "Pretty face, you hear that George?"

"Shut it, you."

**"Well sis, why don't we go and find out." Fred got up and took out five pairs of the extendable ears and handed everyone a pair.**

"Boys!"

**"Wow you came prepared." commented Hermione.**

**"Well the house didn't get infested by pixies, just as the Order meeting was going to start by chance." Fred and George were stifling their laughter at the look on the other four faces.**

"BOYS!"

**"You…you did that!" Ginny didn't know whether to scowl or cheer.**

**"But how are we going to get rid of them?" Ron asked.**

**"Don't worry, they're temporary, once they run out of active enzyme they will just fade away."**

"That's... really clever." Sirius frowned in contemplation, while Remus and James nodded. Their praise did nothing to deter Molly's fury.

"If you can do all that, you can get better grades!"

"We're applying ourselves to our future mum! We don't need NEWTS for that!"

**Fred took another bow as Ginny and Damien were clapping their hands in praise.**

**"You…you designed them, wow that is really advanced magic, how did you..." Hermione was cut off by the sound of shouting coming from downstairs.**

**The six of them looked at each other and then ran to the door.**

"Why do I get the feeling Harry is involved?"

**xxx**

**Harry was fuming.**

"You'd be right." Fleur muttered to Bill.

**As soon as James had left the room he had leapt out of bed and had made his way, as quietly as he could to the door.**

"Of course he did." James sighed.

"Well, he is your son."

**He heard the magical click as the door was sealed shut. Harry waited a few minutes. He heard the sound of six or seven people, noisily making their way to the second floor.**

"That's us!"

"We're not noisy!"

"We're not exactly the pinnacle of silence."

**When he was sure there was no one around, he took a step back from the door and placed his hand on the door. He closed his eyes and focused his mind on the magic sealing the door. He had been studying wandless magic since he was fourteen and had used it on numerous occasions.**

"Of course he has." There was no denying the pride in James's voice, even as it mixed with exsparation.

**He let the power flow through his fingers and neutralise the magic around the door. The door clicked open within a minute.**

"Great."

**Harry couldn't help but smile. He was going home.**

"Great."

**He knew that with so many people coming to the Order meetings the wards would be down.**

"Great."

"Sirius!"

"Okay Moony!"

**He knew for a fact that families of the members usually came to the meetings but were not actively involved in the meeting itself. He had learned this information while studying the Order last year.**

"Studying?"

"How could he possibly have gotten that information!"

"That's not good-"

"Our families could be in danger!"

**He knew that non members of the Order would not have been able to enter or exit the house with the wards up, so they had to be temporarily brought down. This was the chance Harry had been waiting for.**

"Smart kid." Kingsley said gruffly.

**He stepped out of the room and looked around quickly. There was no one around. He quickly went over to the stairs and crept quietly down them.**

"Oh come on!"

**He reached the bottom of the stairs and released the breath he was holding. Harry crept quietly towards the door. He knew he was taking a huge risk; he had no wand, and had not fully healed yet. He paused briefly as he neared the room that the meeting was being held in. He knew that the door probably had the** **_Silencio_ ** **charm placed on it so that no one could eavesdrop. Harry crept towards the door and reached it within a couple of minutes. He places a trembling hand on the handle and pulled the door open. He nearly cried out with joy as the door opened and he felt the cool air rush to greet him. He had not stepped outside in seven days and this feeling of being in the open air was making Harry feel giddy.**

**Harry had placed one foot out of the door when he felt a strong hand grip his shoulder.**

"Oh thank Merlin!"

"Please be friendly."

**Harry was pulled inside violently before Harry could even turn around to see who had caught him. The door had been closed and locked with a wave of a wand and Harry whirled around to end up face-to-face with an infuriated looking James Potter. Harry blinked at him in surprise. He had not even heard him approach behind him, how the hell did he catch him? Harry suddenly was filled with fury. James Potter had spoiled his plans to escape, he had stopped Harry from getting home and away from this horrible place.**

Damien frowned at his brothers words. Draco too, seemed upset, although for different reasons.

**James yanked Harry away from the door and hissed at him.**

**"Get upstairs! Now!"**

**Harry tried to twist out of his grip but James was now pointing his wand at him.**

"James," Lily groaned.

**This did nothing to calm Harry's rising temper.**

"Great."

_"Sirius!"_

**"Let me go!" Harry shouted.**

**"Get upstairs!" James grabbed Harry roughly by the upper arm and dragged the boy up the stairs.**

**Harry shouted again and tried to yank his arm out of James's hand.**

**"Let go of me! Let me go Potter!"**

**James arrived in front of Harry's room and pushed Harry roughly into the room. James went in and closed the door behind him.**

"At least I stopped him from escaping?" James said weakly.

**xxx**

**Damien and his five friends opened the door and stepped out into the dimly lit hallway. They could hear shouting from the floor below. They peered over the banister in time to see James Potter dragging a boy towards a room.**

"Not good."

**Damien watched as his dad roughly pushed a teenage boy into a room before going in himself and slamming the door shut. The six teenagers had only seen the back of the boy and in the dim lighting had not been able to make out any features.**

The sighs of relief made the teenagers scowl.

**They looked at each other and quietly crept back to their room.**

**"What the hell was that?" asked Ron looking at Fred and George as if they had planned this.**

"Hey!"

**"Who was that boy?" Ginny asked a little worriedly.**

"Your future love!" George sighed dreamily.

"Shut up!" Ginny shoved him, red faced.

**"Yeah and why was your dad being so rough with him, it looks like he was hurting him." Hermione asked a very puzzled Damien.**

_'Even the blind can see it.'_ Draco thought, victorious.

**"I don't know, my dad would never hurt someone on purpose, I don't understand." Damien replied in a small voice.**

"Thanks Damien."

**"Well, there's only one way to find out, Damien did you bring the map?" Fred asked.**

"Map?" James asked. Sirius sank down in his seat. "What map?" Damien scowled, fuming, refusing to answer.

**Damien pulled out a blank piece of parchment. He tapped it with his wand and whispered;**

**"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good in the Black Manor."**

James turned slowly to look at his friend.

**The blank piece of parchment suddenly filled with a detailed map of the Black Manor. The only section of the map that remained blank was the room that the meeting was taking place in.**

"At least there's that."

**When Sirius had given this map to Damien**

Sirius smiled weakly at the looks he was given.

**he had explained that it was vital that everything about the Order was kept a secret, including its members.**

"Don't be mad?"

"Oh, we're a bit beyond that."

**The six children quickly scanned the map in the hope that the identity of this mysterious boy would be revealed. They saw the room where they were all standing. There were six little dots with their names next to them. They scanned to the room below them and spotted the two dots standing in the room. Damien felt the world stop as he read the name next to his fathers.**

_**Harry James Potter.** _

"Well that's certainly not how I would have wanted him to find out. Thanks a lot, Sirius!"

Damien snapped. "Well, if you had just told me in the first place this wouldn't be an issue!"

"Damien!"

"No! I'm trying to be supportive because I know it's difficult for you but it's difficult for me to! It's not fair!" Damien stormed from the room, slamming it behind him with a bang.

**xxx**

Damien flew down the castle stairs, making his way onto the grounds, hearing his parents pursuing him. He took a sharp turn past the lake, the giant squid breaking the surface as he raced past. Sprinting for the trees of the forbidden forest, he ducked and weaved, losing them. He sat down heavily behind a tree, panting.

"Damien!"

"Damy please!"

"Damien come out now!"

Multiple voices. Looks like they all came after him. Rage still simmered inside him.

"Damien!"

"Damy come out! It's dangerous out here!"

"Damien is it?" He jumped, the voice right next to his ear. Whirling around with a yelp, he looked at the person who startled him.

"I think we should have a talk." His brother smirked.


	14. Chapter Fourteen: The Deal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * - Are explained in End of Chapter Notes

"Damien!" Lily cried out, desperately spinning around in a circle. The Forbidden Forest loomed above her, its endless depths muffling her shouts. The eerie stillness stubbornly refusing to be disturbed.

"Damien!" Her husbands voice rang out, stronger than her own. Years spent trespassing in these woods in his youth aided him now, his voice penetrated the darkness more effectively than any lumos would.

"Damien please! Come out! We're sorry!" Lily tried again.

"We need to regroup," Tonks jogged over to the couple. "We're spread too thin. Everyone's meeting at the lake."

"I'm not leaving this forest until I find my son." James didn't alter his gaze from the path it tracked in the gloom. Lily wouldn't be surprised if he was using his Animagus ability to better see*, his eyes flitting to movement she could barely even hear.

"James, she's right." James turned, mouth agape as he stared at his wife. "We need a plan. We can't all just keep stumbling around out here, not if we actually want to find Damy." The corner of her mouth briefly turned up, "Come on. You're supposed to be the Auror. I'm just a Potions Mistress." She tugged at his arm. "Let's go."

James cast one more look around the Forest before reluctantly following his wife's pull.

**xxxx**

"What are you doing?" The boy struggled, fighting against the tight grip the other had on him. "Get off me!" His attempts, futile in his panic, grew wilder. "Let go!"

"No."

"Merlin kid, get off me!" Harry forced Damien's hands away from where they had been tightly wrapped around his body. "What is wrong with you?"

"It's called a hug, Harry."

"I know what a bloody- you don't even know me!" Harry stared at his brother incredulously. "What, do you hug everyone you meet?" Damien shrugged, grinning wildly.

"I do know you." Harry frowned at the answer and Damien's smile. _'Might as well have some fun.'_ "I know everything about you. Every little thought you've ever had, every-"

"I suppose you think you're clever," Harry interrupted. Damien continued to smile annoyingly at the Dark Prince. "Congratulations," Harry snarked. "You're able to read a book." His smile fell.

"How do you know about the book?"

**xxxx**

Dumbledore smiled softly as Sirius and Remus trudged up to the lake, joining the Potters at the edge of the group. The longing looks the four continued to cast at the Forest did not escape his notice.

"Did you see the children?" Molly stood with her husband and five oldest sons. "Ron, Hermione and Ginny?"

"I spoke to them before I went to get Lily and James," Tonks piped up from Kingsley's side. She cast a concerned gaze around the group. "They weren't that far, they aught to be here by now." She trailed off, shuffling her feet.

"We should go look for them," Charlie piped up, Molly nodding rapidly in agreement.

"I'm sure they're alright," Arthur reassured his wife, wincing at the tight grip she had on his arm.

"Yeah," Bill agreed. "They're probably on their way back right now."

**xxxx**

"We should be heading back!" Hermione hissed.

"Oh come on, it's just a bit longer."

"I agree with Hermione," Ginny grabbed her brothers arm. "Tonks spoke to us ages ago. They're probably already wondering where we are!"

"Mum'll throw a fit then. She's probably right pissed."

"Exactly," Ginny said, ignoring Hermione's admonishment for the curse.

"So, what's a bit longer right!" Ron trudged deeper into the woods, Hermione and Ginny exchanging a look before following.

_"Ron!"_

"Ron, come on!"

"We're leaving-"

"It's not like we're abandoning Damien, we're just-"

 _"Ron stop moving!"_ Ron froze, looking back at Hermione's pale face. "Did you hear that?" Her lips barely moved as she spoke. "There's someone over there." She titled her head towards a thicket of trees. Ron strained his ears, shaking his head in bewilderment.

"There's nothing-"

"I hear it too." Ginny's eyes were wide. Hermione raised a shaking hand, wand pointed towards the source of the voices.

" _Homenum Revelio."_

The spell swooped over towards the thicket, silencing the voices as it hit them.

"There's two people over there." Hermione's voice shook.

"Maybe it's just the others."

"They've all head back already," Ron hissed at his sister. "We're the only ones left out here. It's someone else."

Hermione scrambled back towards him as the bushes rustled, footsteps rapidly crunching towards them. The trio raised their wands, the crunching of leaves getting louder and louder. A figure shot out of the gloom, running towards them.

" _Petrificus totalus!"_ The white light shot from Ginny's wand, enveloping the figure. They froze, the momentum causing them to topple face first onto the ground, limbs splayed awkwardly. Hesitantly, Ron stepped forward.

"There was another one!" Hermione grabbed his arm. He nodded sharply.

"Keep a look out, yeah?" The girls nodded, and he continued forward. Slowly he approached, noticing more details the closer he got. Black hair that was full of twigs and leaves, no doubt from the mad rush through the bushes towards them. Pale skin, dark robes. Ron's frown deepened. _'School robes...'_

"Damien, you little _prick_!" Ron rolled the boy over. "Don't roll your eyes at me, you scared the hell out of us charging in like that. What were you running from?" He unfroze the younger boy with a flick of his wand.

"Nothing, I was just having a laugh," Damien brushed his robes off, laughing and running a hand through his hair.

"Who were you talking to? We heard voices." Hermione questioned, picking his wand off the ground and handing it to him.

"No one."

"We know that there was somebody else there Damien. Hermione did a spell."

"Maybe she got it wrong," he shrugged at Ginny. "Come on," he headed off into the Forest. "We should head back, right?"

The trio followed the younger boy, Ginny casting one last look at where he had come from, unaware of the watchful eyes upon her.

**xxxx**

"Damien!" Lily rushed over to the boy as he emerged from the Forest. "Oh, what happened?" She worried over his dishevelled appearance.

"Ginny petrified me."

"You scared us!"

"I didn't think you would petrify me!"

Lily engulfed her son in a hug, pulling back and scanning him for injuries. "What happened?" She asked again, taking his face in between her hands. "Where did you go? You shouldn't have run off like that, we were worried sick!"

"I was just-" Damien pulled from his mothers embrace, gazing longingly back into the forest behind him. "I just had to think things through. Don't worry," he smiled bemusedly at the concerned faces around him.

"Everything's fine now."

**xxxx**

"Somehow I doubt everything is fine."

Sirius and Remus walked side by side behind the trio of Potters, heading back to the Room of Requirement.

"Shhhh," Remus hissed, gesturing with his eyes.

"Come off it Moony, they're too wrapped up in Damy to pay attention." Sirius clutched at his ribs, Remus elbowing him sharply in the side. "You haven't said I'm wrong," he wheezed.

"I don't think you're wrong, or," Remus frowned, "I don't want to think that you're wrong."

"First time for everything."

"You'd know."

"Oi!" Sirius gaped. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Shut up."

"No, tell me what-"

"Sirius, are you going to enter the bloody door or stand there all day?"

Sirius whirled around to face James, one eyebrow raised as he waited, arm outstretched to keep the door open.

"Right," Sirius nodded, "yep, coming."

Remus, sighing, followed.

**xxxx**

"I think that we should call it for the day," James ran a hand through his hair, tiredly looking up at the rest of the group. He plucked his glasses off, rubbing the sudden sleepiness from his eyes and massaging his temple briefly, before sliding them back on. "It's been a bit much for us all, and-"

"No." He blinked owlishly at his son.

"What?"

"No. I want to keep going. At least one more chapter." Damien moved to the couches, throwing himself down. Ron followed loyally, Fred, George and the two girls following hesitantly after. "Besides, I think you owe me."

"I-" James looked to his wife, who nodded her head. "Okay, if that's okay with the rest of you-?"

"That's just fine." Arthur smiled, taking his seat with a soft groan. "I'll read, shall I?" He summoned the book to himself with a flick of his wand, and waited for the others to settle.

"Right then, let's see..."

**"The Deal"**

Some frowns of confusion as Arthur read the title flitted around the room.

**The six teenagers stood in shock reading and re-reading the name over and over again.**

**"Harry Potter, who's that?" Ron asked quietly.**

James squeezed his wives hand. ' _Thats our son'._

**Everyone looked at Damien. The thirteen year old stood with his mouth slightly open and his hazel eyes fixed on the name. Damien had always wanted to know more about his family, being an only child Damien was desperate to have even a cousin, however distant, to be able to have some sort of company other than adults.**

"Oh Damy-"

"It's fine mum." Damien waved his hand dismissively. "I had the Weasley's didn't I? I wasn't all alone."

**His parents had told him that his only cousin was his aunt Petunia's son Dudley Dursley,**

Damien shuddered in disgust.

**who was very obnoxious, like the rest of his family, towards Damien and his parents. They were muggles who hated magic**

"That's awful!" Molly looked at Lily. "They're your family aren't they?"

"My sister was jealous, she desperately wanted to be able to do magic and, when she realised that for her it was impossible, decided to hate and fear it." Lily glanced at Severus, her old friend looking back at her knowing that she was thinking about the same thing he was. "And everything associated with it."

_"It is real, isn't it? It's not a joke? Petunia says you're lying to me. Petunia says there isn't a Hogwarts. It is real, isn't it?"_

_"Its real for us. Not for her."_

_"- you think I want to be a - a freak?"_

_"He's a freak, Lily!" **_

Dumbledore looked down, contemplating a letter he once received many years ago, from a little girl deeply saddened that she couldn't go to Hogwarts with her younger sister. ' _We've always done everything together, you see. I think she'll be awfully lonely without me, I do so hate to see her upset.'_

He wondered at how someone could possibly change so much, looking over at Lily's dejected form. ' _You were right, Miss Petunia,'_ the old man thought. ' _She misses you.'_

**and anything to do with magic. Even though his aunt had been his mother's only sister, she and Lily had never got on.**

"We used to," Lily assured the crowd. "Before my Hogwarts letter came, we did everything together."

"Oh dear," Molly fretted, smiling sadly at the younger woman.

**James has told Damien that he had no aunts or uncles from his side and that there were no other Potters alive, other than them.**

James and Sirius exchanged a glance, remembering the brave people that raised the both of them.

**Damien was staring at the name again. Who was this? And if he was a Potter then why was his dad being so hostile towards him?**

Draco snorted quietly.

**Damien finally tore his eyes away from the map and looked at his friends.**

**"We need to find out who he is." he said quietly to them.**

**Fred and George's expression suddenly changed from curious to mischievous.**

"Guys, this is serious. You should know better than to get involved." Bill protested. The twins looked at him, astonished that their 'cool' older brother was admonishing them. "No, don't look at me like that! Don't!"

"What Bill is trying to say is that you both know an Order meeting is going on." Fleur added. "You shouldn't be disrupting anything." Bill kissed his partners cheek in thanks.

"And didn't I tell you all not to leave the room?" Molly questioned. Fred pulled a face at his brother, who nodded sullenly.

**The mock saluted him and rushed to the door. The other four hurried behind them. When they reached the first floor landing George hushed orders to everyone.**

"You remind me so much of James. He was always in charge when we got up to- er, when we did, you know, stuff," Remus trailed off awkwardly when McGonagall turned slowly to look at him, missing the proud look on George's face.

**"Okay, here's the plan, Ron, you and Damien take these and carefully slip them under the door, Hermione and Ginny, you both play spy and go downstairs." at this both girls started to object, rather loudly.**

"That's not fair!" Ginny hissed at her brother, Hermione nodding furiously. "You can't just send us away like that! We want to see Harry too!"

"You want to see Harry, hey?" Ron sniggered. Ginny flushed, bright red all the way down to her neck. Hermione swatted at Ron.

"She means we want to know what's going on as well! Don't be rude, Ron!"

**"Shh, in the name of heaven girls, keep it down! We need you two to tell us if someone is coming upstairs. We will tell you everything word for word, promise." Fred sent the two complaining girls away and turned to see that Damien and Ron had slipped four ear strings under the door.**

Ginny grumbled, and Hermione crossed her arms. Both girls slumped against the couch with a huff.

**"Perfect"**

**The four boys quickly stuck the ear piece into their own ears and began listing to the fierce argument coming from the room.**

**"…sneaking out in the middle of the night! I mean honestly Harry, do you have a death wish?" James's angry voice was ringing in their ears.**

"He just wants to go home," Draco pouted.

"That's not his home!" James glared at the boy.

**"The only wish that I have is to get out of this miserable hell hole and back home!"**

Draco shot a smug look at the older Potter, who stubbornly refused to look at him.

**Damien felt his heart skip a beat. That voice was oddly enough like his own.**

"Really?" Lily looked up, excited. "Oh! How wonderful!"

"Odd that you two didn't notice that before," Tonks frowned thoughtfully.

"There was quite a bit going on." Remus replied, Tonks blushing as he addressed her.

' _Or they just didn't care enough to notice.'_ Draco thought, spitefully.

**He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. 'This is so creepy' he thought to himself.**

**"Home! Harry when are you going to accept that this is your home, your real home." James sounded thoroughly exhausted, like he had stressed this point before.**

**The four boys shared a look before continuing to listen in. At least this confirmed that 'Harry' was in fact a member of the Potter family.**

"Only by blood," Draco hissed under his breath.

**"Never! No matter how long you force me to stay here, I'm never going to call this my home. So you can just stop trying Potter!"**

**Damien let out a small gasp. Why did this boy just address Damien's dad like that? Damien looked over at the Weasley boys who were looking quite baffled.**

**"I'm warning you Harry, never talk to me like that again, do you hear?"**

Draco paled. "What are you going to do to him?" He whirled on the parent's of the captured teen. "You can't hurt him! Not anymore!"

"What do you mean-?" Lily was cut off by Fleur.

"Draco, they didn't mean to hurt Harry before. It was an accident." Draco glared at the part-veela. ' _Accident?'_ He thought furiously. _'The lies they tell themselves.'_

**Damien could tell that his dad was clenching his teeth and talking. 'Never a good sign' Damien thought to himself.**

_'What does he mean?'_ Draco thought. _'Merlin, is he getting hurt too?'_

**"Like what? I haven't said anything wrong, just stated the facts!" the boy called Harry replied with just as much anger.**

**"You know very well what I mean, if you can't address me as anything else then at least don't refer to me as 'Potter', after all you are a 'Potter' as well!"**

"Damn right!" Sirius cheered.

**Before Damien could hear the response to this, an angry shout was heard coming from downstairs. The four boys quickly tore the extendable ears out of their ears and ran to the second floor. They made it just in time, they flung themselves to different corners of the room, pretending to be busy with one thing or another.**

"Honestly boys!" Molly fumed.

**The door opened and a very red and embarrassed looking Hermione and Ginny came through the door, followed by Mrs Weasley.**

**"Boys! What were you doing, sending the girls like that, don't you ever think about the consequences?" Mrs Weasley was looking livid.**

"Not good." George whispered. The two girls exchanged worried glances.

**The boys in question glared at the two girls and looked in shame at the fuming Mrs Weasley. Before any of them could open their mouths to say anything she continued.**

**"Hermione has only been here once! How could you ask her to go and get you food, honestly! You had been told that you will get dinner after the meeting, you just don't listen to me."**

"Really Hermione?" Ron exclaimed. "That's the best you could come up with?"

**The four boys looked at each other and then turned to look at the two blushing girls who stood awkwardly next to Mrs Weasley.**

**"Sorry Mum." muttered Ron while the other three nodded their heads in agreement.**

**Mrs Weasley left the room, promising them that food would be ready in the next thirty minutes. Once she was gone the four boys rounded on the girls.**

**"We sent you to get _food!_ " Ron asked Hermione.**

Ron gestured wildly at the book in his fathers hands, making it clear that he very much agreed with his future self. Hermione scowled.

**"Well you didn't give us any pre-made excuses, so we just had to come up with one on the spot." Hermione answered still looking very red.**

**"And that was the best you could do?" came Fred's sarcastic voice.**

Ron gestured at Fred who returned it, evidently in agreement.

"Oh Ginny!" George groaned, face in hands. "Haven't we taught you better?" His voice came out slightly muffled, and he was seemingly in pain.

**"Oh, who cares? She bought it didn't she? Now tell us, what did you guys overhear? Who is that boy?" Ginny looked excitedly at the four boys.**

"My future brother-in-law at this rate," Bill mumbled under his breath, Fleur letting out a small squeal of excitement that drew a few puzzled looks.

**It took less than five minutes to tell the girls exactly what they had overheard. The two girls sat silently, listening to the conversation that happened between this 'Harry Potter' and James Potter. Hermione was the first to speak up.**

**"So this Harry Potter said that he was being forced to stay here?" she asked Ron.**

"Obviously, he is a prisoner." Charlie scoffed at Hermione, who blinked, confused as to what she had done to draw his ire.

"Don't talk to her like that!" Ron snarled, backing off when Hermione put a hand on his arm.

**Ron nodded his head, looking thoroughly confused.**

**"It just doesn't make any sense and the way he was talking to Mr Potter. He sounded right pissed off with him."**

**"Yeah and what was the whole 'death wish' thing? Why would anyone here try and hurt your cousin?" Fred asked Damien.**

**Damien looked up at Fred with a startled look.**

**"My…my what?" he asked confused.**

**"Well, he has to be your cousin. Who else could he be?" answered Fred.**

"My brother!" Damien grinned.

**Damien thought about this. It did make sense. Was it possible that maybe this was a long lost relative that even his parents didn't know about until now? That was probably why they never told Damien, after all why would they keep anything from him, right?**

**Damien was lost in his thoughts while the rest of the teenagers made up other possible explanations that would solve this mystery surrounding Harry Potter. No one even came close to the truth.**

**xxx**

_"Harry this doesn't make sense! How could you of-"_

_"I didn't ask you if you thought it made sense!" Harry hissed at his brother. "I told you the truth, all you have to do is accept it!"_

_"But I can't accept it. Not that." Damien shook his head._

_"You stubborn, little-"_

_"Brother?"_

_"Shut up."_

_Damien smiled briefly, before it faded into a concerned look. "Harry are you okay?"_

_"I said shut it!" Harry groaned, clutching at his forehead._

_"It's your scar isn't it?" Damien asked, waving a hand dismissively when his brother peeked at him from behind his hands. "I read a book, remember." Harry smirked in reply, before he hissed in pain again._

_"We should really get you checked out-" He cut himself off as other voices made themselves known._

_"Oh come on, it's just a bit longer!"_

_Damien frowned. "That's Ron." He turned back to his brother, "they're looking for me, we should both head back-"_

_"Like hell." Harry straightened, Damien frowning at the redness visible in his scar. "I'm not going back with you."_

_"Harry come on! You have to! Mum and Dad'll be thrilled-"_

_"No."_

_"Did you hear that?" Harry and Damien stopped arguing abruptly, exchanging worried looks. "There's someone over there."_

_"You have to go," Harry hissed. He cut the other boy off with a look when he opened his mouth to argue. "Go, Damien."_

_"Promise me you'll look into what I said."_

_"Damien."_

_"Promise me Harry!" Harry's head snapped up as a spell waved over them. He cursed, recognising it._

_"Get moving, you little prick!"_

_"Harry, you have to look into W-"_

_"I will alright! Now go!"_

_Damien took off without another look back, running right into the paralysis spell shot his way._

**xxx**

Damien looked at Mr Weasley as he continued to read.

**Harry sat across from James. He had made himself comfortable on the bed as James paced the floor, still ranting on and about how 'dangerous sneaking out' could have been and 'why Harry was determined to hurt himself' Harry was beginning to tune him out.**

"Hey!" James protested, Sirius snickering quietly at his friend.

**He had been literally hopping mad when he was forced back into this room, Harry had argued with James and shouted at him. However, now Harry was getting tired and just annoyed with James. 'Why doesn't he just shut up and get lost!' he thought to himself.**

"Well, I never!" Molly looked aghast. Lily furrowed her brow slightly, upset by Harry's attitude towards his father.

"Boy's got no respect!" Moody huffed. "Should teach it to him the old fashioned way." He shook one gnarled fist in the air threateningly.

"You're not going to touch him!" Draco snarled at the same time as James, both parties exchanging slightly bewildered looks before breaking eye contact.

**James stopped pacing and walked towards Harry. He stopped right in front of the raven haired boy and crouched low so that he could see into Harry's eyes...**

**"Harry, why can't you understand that I don't want you getting hurt?" James said with his voice full of emotion.**

_'Merlin, I don't know how much more of this I can take.'_ Draco sighed, slumping down on the couch, rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair in exsparation.

**Harry looked at James straight in the eyes and replied.**

**"Why?" Harry watched as James looked fit to break down.**

**"Why do you care what happens to me? I am not your son anymore,**

Frustrated groans resounded through the room.

**why do…" Harry was interrupted by a soft knock at the door. He and James looked over at the door and saw Lily poke her head inside.**

**"What happened?" she asked as she saw the hurt look on James's face and the annoyed look on Harry's. James straightened up and looked at his son through glazed eyes.**

**"Nothing, just talking over something."**

**Harry looked at James, wondering why he was lying. Harry looked away and started to gaze out of the window. He wished the Potters would just go away. He hated this act they did, pretending to care about him, telling him outright lies of how much they had missed him and how they wanted to protect him. It made Harry feel sick with rage. He closed his eyes and tried to push down his anger.**

"I don't understand," Lily looked around the room desperately, her lost look tugging on many heartstrings. "Why? Why does he-" she cut herself off with a choked sob. "Merlin, please, I don't understand?"

Draco swallowed uncomfortably, an unwanted lump having formed in his throat. He would not pity this woman. She was a _liar._

**"Well, the meeting is finished. Dumbledore wants you and Harry to come downstairs so he can fill you in."**

**Lily was looking at both of them curiously. She knew something was up. James would not have missed this meeting for anything, so why was he up here instead arguing with Harry? She shook her head a little. 'I'll just ask James later' she thought as she followed James and Harry out of the door and back downstairs to the meeting.**

**There was only Mr and Mrs Weasley, Sirius and Remus left sitting at the table with Dumbledore. Everyone else had gone home. Dumbledore looked up at the three people who came in. James was looking very anxious and tired and Harry looked just plain bored.**

"Of course he does," Draco smiled slightly, shaking his head and looking down. He missed the desperate looks those most invested in Harry threw his way, hopeful for more information.

**Dumbledore chuckled slightly to himself. It really should be Harry looking anxious and worried, since this meeting was about his future. Dumbledore motioned for them to sit down. Once the three Potters were seated Dumbledore cleared his throat and spoke.**

**"I am sure you are quite anxious to know what the outcome was of my meeting with the Minister." he addressed Harry.**

"He couldn't care less, actually," Draco sneered. He looked away from the questioning gazes, clearing his throat in a desperate attempt to rid it of the uncomfortable lump that lodged itself there whenever Lily looked at him.

**James nodded his head a little, while Harry merely looked at his hands, as though seeing them for the first time.**

Damien snickered.

**Dumbledore continued.**

**"I am glad to inform you that the Minister has agreed, to the most part, with my suggestion." he paused here again to see if his words had any effect on Harry. The raven haired teen continued to examine his nails in a very cheeky manner and was acting as if he couldn't hear Dumbledore.**

"He is quite rude," Hermione whispered to Ginny. The red haired girl seemed to not hear her, Hermione looked to Ron who shrugged helplessly. Fred and George made kissy faces over their brother's shoulder, silenced by a fierce scowl from the bushy haired teenager.

**"There are some conditions set which I am not entirely in agreement with but, hopefully the circumstances should not arise to enforce these conditions." Dumbledore continued.**

**Harry sighed and looked up at Dumbledore.**

**"Are you planning on telling us what your master plan is, or are you just going to talk nonsense all night?" Harry asked while boring his emerald green eyes into Dumbledore's midnight blue ones.**

" _Harry James Potter!"_ Lily hissed out, grasping desperately for the right words. "Well, I never-"

"It's quite alright, Mrs Potter," Dumbledore raised a hand to wave any concerns away, "I'm sure young Harry didn't mean any harm."

"Yes he did." Draco looked at the old man, incredulous. "Harry never says anything if he doesn't mean it."

"Well, I'm sure he was just trying to seem as though he isn't scared, is all." Molly said.

"Yes, the poor boy must be frightened out of his mind." McGonagall added.

"He's just acting tough, is all. Teenagers do it all the time," Arthur smiled reassuringly at the Potters.

" _Hey!"_

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

"He hates you." Steel grey eyes bored mercilessly into twinkling blue ones, ignorant of the shocked gasps around the room. "He would kill you, if given half the chance. He wouldn't even hesitate."

"No." Lily's lip trembled. "No, no, _no!_ Take it back! He wouldn't! He's just a boy! What a _wretched_ thing to say! Harry could _never_ -"

"Because you know him so well, don't you?"

"Draco, _shut up,"_ Sirius hissed at his relative, Tonks flushing red with embarrassment.

"Arthur, if you wouldn't mind," Dumbledore gestured at the book laying limp in the man's hands.

"Yes, right..."

**A collective gasp was heard around the table at Harry's insolence. Mrs Weasley looked like she would like nothing better than to go over to Harry and clip him on the ear for such rudeness.**

"I certainly would, if he was my child to discipline!" Molly huffed.

**Harry smirked and continued to stare cheekily at Dumbledore. The Headmaster looked momentarily stunned but had overcome this quickly and bowed his head slightly towards Harry.**

**"My apologises, Harry. I really should have started with explaining the nature of my suggestion. Very well, I will explain it to you now." he was actually glad to be able to look at Harry directly than Harry's hung head as it made what he was going to say a lot easier.**

**"You see Harry, I went to see the Minister on the day you arrived here. I explained your true identity to Minister Fudge and asked him to reconsider his decision of handing you over to the Dementors without trial. I explained the sensitive nature of how you were tricked and fooled into carrying out those awful deeds and…"**

"Oh, he's not going to like that," Draco muttered, rubbing his temples.

**Dumbledore was cut off as Harry bellowed:**

**"I WAS NOT! I KNEW PERFECTLY WELL WHAT I WAS DOING! HOW DARE YOU SAY I WAS FOOLED AND TRICKED BY MY OWN FATHER!"**

George mimed an explosion going off to his twin, who grinned back in agreement.

**Harry lunged forward to grab Dumbledore by the neck.**

"Merlin, Harry!" James sighed.

**Instantly Sirius, Arthur and James had grabbed onto the boy and pulled him back into his seat.**

"Thanks Arthur," James receieved a smile from the other man.

**"Mr Potter, please restrain yourself or we will do it for you." Arthur said to the struggling Harry in a stern voice.**

**Harry stopped struggling and gave Arthur a death glare. Harry didn't fancy being tied down to his chair. He sat back and tried to shake off James's grip on his arm but James only tightened it.**

Draco inhaled sharply, leaning forward to pay more attention. Were they finally going to have their true natures revealed?

**Dumbledore had sat quietly as Harry had his outburst. He didn't even flinch as the boy had tried to attack him. He was expecting this kind of reaction from Harry, but he was not going to disguise his words, he was going to tell Harry the truth about his so called father.**

"What truth? Harry knows what he is. He knows what he does." Draco met the gaze of his Headmaster. "Just as he knows what you've done," his gaze snapped, accusing, to James and Lily.

"What? What have we-"

"You know what! I won't be the one to say it! You can stop pretending, the truth will come out!"

"Cut it out, Malfoy!" The reply came not from James, but his son. "You and I will talk later, but right now you need to shut it!" He hissed under his breath at the older boy. Draco maintained eye contact, surprised by the intensity in the others gaze. He nodded slowly, turning his head away and refusing to look at anyone in the room.

**"Harry, I understand how you must feel right now. You may think we are trying to deceive you and lead you away from the man you call father. I assure you we are not trying to deceive you. We are in fact trying to bring out the truth. You, my boy have been lied to most of your life…"**

Draco's eye twitched, but he maintained his silence.

**Dumbledore stopped as he saw Harry try to free himself from James and attempt to attack him once more.**

"Bloody hell," Ron swore softly.

**Dumbledore sighed to himself. 'This is not working'. The Headmaster looked at Harry again and this time leaned in closer to the struggling boy. Harry stopped struggling with James and scowled at Dumbledore, daring him to come closer.**

"Don't go closer," Ginny squeaked, the rising tension grating on her nerves.

**"Okay, Harry, we won't talk about that just yet. Please let me finish my say on what is to happen with you."**

**At this Harry opened his mouth to say he didn't care what Dumbledore had to say and that he would probably not do what he was told to do in any case. However the firm grip on his arm tightened just as Harry had opened his mouth. Harry winced and shut his mouth again, but not before glaring at James.**

A sharp inhale was all the noise the Slytherin made as he eagerly awaited for the true nature of the Potter's to emerge.

**"It has been agreed that you will remain out of the custody of the Ministry. There will be no trial as there will be no arrest."**

**James let go of Harry and sat open mouthed at this. Harry was not going to Azkaban! He was not being charged for murder! This was probably the best thing that could have happened. James had wished endlessly for a miracle that would leave them in custody of Harry and somehow keep Harry out of the Ministry's grasp. However, as wonderful as this sounded, James knew it wasn't the full story. 'There must be a downside to this' he thought to himself.**

' _He's stuck with you,'_ Draco thought miserably.

**"However Harry, this does not mean that you are free to go back home. You are to remain in my custody until you are seventeen." Dumbledore took in the shocked faces of Harry and James.**

**"You see that was my suggestion to the Minister. I asked him to leave you in my custody. I would be responsible for you."**

"But, Lily and I are his parent's Dumbledore! Surely we should-"

"The Minister would never agree to that." Lily looked down, grasping her husbands hand. "He would think it a liability." Dumbledore nodded in agreement,

"I am truly sorry, my dear."

**James interrupted Dumbledore.**

**"I'm sorry Dumbledore, but how can you do that, I mean Lily and I are responsible for Harry. We are his parents! If anyone should look after Harry it should be us." James was looking at Dumbledore as if he were a traitor, trying to take away his son.**

James still looked like he very much agreed with that sentiment.

**"James, my boy. That is exactly what the Minister did not want. Harry staying with his parents, as it could lead to Harry's escape back to Voldemort."**

**"I am still going to go back home, whether I stay with you or them." Harry hissed at Dumbledore.**

**"If I can't get back home then my father will come looking for me."**

**Dumbledore smiled at him and said in a very low voice.**

**"That is why Harry, you are coming to Hogwarts."**

...

" _What?!"_

_"Are you insane!"  
_

_"_ You would endanger the lives of your _students!"_

"Please," Dumbledore said calmly. "I understand your concerns, but trust that I have a valid reasoning behind my decision."

**Harry sat in shock. What was this old fool thinking? Harry couldn't go to Hogwarts. Harry knew that it was impossible to escape from Hogwarts and that it was the one place his father could never come to rescue him. Nonetheless did Dumbledore not realise the risk Harry would pose?**

Dumbledore smiled. The boy was indeed a smart one, to deduce the reasoning behind his plan in a matter of seconds, a feat, it seemed, his Order was not capable of.

**Dumbledore wouldn't endanger the entire school like that, would he?**

**"Dumbledore, how is that even possible?" James was sounding as shocked as Harry was feeling.**

**"Well it is possible and the Minister has given his consent for Harry to be enrolled into the sixth year of Hogwarts." Dumbledore smiled at the shocked looks that he was getting.**

**"Now you may be wondering why the Minister has consented to this, so let me explain. It is unfortunately not as simple as it seems. There are conditions set against this. Harry will remain in my custody until he reaches the age of seventeen. If by this time Harry has shown no intentions of returning to Lord Voldemort and working as the Dark Prince, then he will be pardoned and there will be no action taken against his crimes. It will be looked at as a case of the IIC, Imperio Induced Crimes. If he returns to Lord Voldemort or shows resistance to living in the wizarding world as a law abiding wizard, then he will be charged with the murders he has committed and will probably serve a life sentence in Azkaban. They might even give him the Kiss if he is found guilty of all charges." Dumbledore stopped here to look at the heart broken faces of James and Lily.**

"But that gives us barely a year to change his mind!" Lily despaired.

**"It is my intention to show you, Harry, the error of your judgement and to let you see the real wizarding world for what it is. I know that you have been told many things about me and what my beliefs are. I am giving you a chance to see for yourself." He looked directly at Harry as he spoke.**

Draco looked puzzled at this, having never considered questioning what he had been told of the old man. A chance to see for yourself... perhaps Harry would even enjoy that.

**Harry was looking at Dumbledore with a questioning look.**

**"Why are you so intent on showing me your ways, what makes you think that I will even listen to you?" Harry asked him.**

**"Because Harry, you are not what you seem. I can see beyond the mask you wear. I can see the true _you_ in the Dark Prince. You are not evil even if you wish for us to believe that you are."**

**Harry snorted and glared at Dumbledore before answering.**

**"Whoever said that I'm evil?" he looked at the confused expressions all around the room before continuing.**

"There is no such thing as good and evil," Draco said, drawing confused expressions himself. "Harry isnt evil, he's powerful. That's all there is, power."

**"There is no good and evil Dumbledore, there is only power. Power is what everyone is really after. In the end it comes down to who is worthy of having it. You may think that what I have done is evil. Well I can say the same to you. Your Order and your Ministry will take a man down no matter what the consequences. They will not hesitate to kick someone when they are down. They are just as ruthless as any Death Eater."**

The Order members exchanged hesitant glances.

**He finished and looked directly at Sirius who was blushing furiously. He knew that Sirius was remembering the first day of Harry's capture. How he and Moody had tormented Harry. How Moody had viciously kicked Harry in his already broken ribs. Harry smiled to himself. 'Serves him right' he thought as he watched the black haired man squirm uncomfortably in his seat.**

"I'm sorry." Sirius whispered.

**"Harry, the words you speak are not your own. I want to show you the truth, after that you can make your own decision." Dumbledore was amazed to hear the words again which had been spoken to him years ago by a certain red eyed man.**

**Harry snorted once again at this.**

**"My own decision, hmm let me see, Azkaban or house arrest, yeah I see the clear winner!" Harry mocked.**

**"Harry, I knew that you would feel this way, but I am sorry to say that you really don't have a say in this. You will be coming to Hogwarts on the 1st of September, like all the other children of the wizarding world. You will learn the truth of this war." Dumbledore was beginning to sound tired.**

_'Good luck getting him on the train.'_ Draco snidely thought.

**"And what if I refuse to come with you?" Harry asked already knowing the answer.**

**"Harry you will come along, one way or another." there was definitely a threatening tone to the old man's voice.**

"Albus!" Minerva scolded quietly.

**"Fine! But how are you going to stop the other kids from protesting against me being in the same school as them! And what about their parents. Surely no sane parent would want their child being in such close proximity to the Dark Prince." Harry was sure that he had Dumbledore cornered. Dumbledore merely laughed and replied.**

**"Well, that is not a problem as you have done us all a favour by being hidden behind that silver mask. No one has ever seen your face, so they will not know your identity. A few students who must be informed of your past will be instructed to keep that information secret, otherwise face expulsion."**

"That'd be us, I suppose!" Fred puffed out his chest proudly.

**Harry looked at the Headmaster in complete disbelief. He was ready to kick out children from their own school if they told anyone about Harry. He imagined the face of his best friend. Draco would probably strut around the entire school singing 'Harry is the Dark Prince' and that 'he is the Dark Lord's heir' and 'his best friend'.**

Draco laughed. "Piss of you prat! Like you're any better!" The blonde was positively giddy, overwhelmed to once again hear Harry confirming that he thought of him as his _best_ friend.

James and Lily exchanged quiet glances, James raising an eyebrow towards the blonde and Lily shrugging with a small smile. They would accept any friend of their sons, if it meant they got him back.

**He shook his head to clear his thoughts.**

**"What if I told someone my true identity?" he asked thinking that he couldn't possibly suffer be the same fate as the other children.**

**"Oh, I am sure that you will be able to keep that a secret. As I am sure you feel the same as most do when in comes to the Dementors Kiss. I don't want that to be your fate Harry, but if you leave me no choice I will be forced to hand you over to the Ministry, who will subject you to the Kiss without hesitation."**

"Blackmail." Bill nodded. "Nice." Fleur elbowed him, throwing a disapproving look in answer to his silent ' _what?'_

**Dumbledore smiled back at Harry as he threw him the dirtiest look he could muster.**

**"Well, if that is all then I best be going. I shall send you your book lists and other documents soon so that you are fully prepared for your school year." Dumbledore stood up and made his way to the fireplace.**

**Before Harry could say anything James stood up and called out to Dumbledore.**

**"Albus! Wait, I have a question?"**

**Dumbledore turned around to face James and smiled at him.**

**"Will we be able to bring Harry home? Even if it is just for a day of two, you know over Christmas or something." he asked in a small voice.**

"Oh, James." Lily whispered, knowing it upset the man that he would be unable to see his son a Hogwarts.

**He couldn't bear the thought of not seeing Harry again for so long. He had just got Harry back and now his son was going to be taken away again.**

**"Of course, Harry can come home for Christmas, if that is what he wants. I am sure you all can discuss it with him as a family at Hogwarts." Dumbledore replied with a twinkle in his eyes.**

**"What do you mean?" asked a confused James.**

**"Did I not mention it James? You are coming to Hogwarts as well." Dumbledore replied.**

"Oh sucked in Prongs!"

" _Sirius!"_

**xxx**

**Lord Voldemort was not pleased. It had been seven days since his son had been taken by that wretched Order and there were still no improvements in rescuing him.**

Proud smirks littered the faces of various members.

**Voldemort had been told that Harry was being held at the headquarters of the Order. This was worrying the Dark Lord to no end. It would have been easier to rescue Harry if he had been held at the Ministry of even Azkaban, but if Harry was being held by the Order then it was near enough impossible to get to him.**

"Damn straight," Remus whispered to Sirius.

**Voldemort thought about Albus Dumbledore and felt the anger burn inside of him. He pushed all thoughts about the old fool away. He had to get to Harry. He needed his son back with him.**

James hissed quielty. He was _not_ his son!

**Lord Voldemort hadn't realised how much he had depended on Harry. Not only for the assignments but for his company as well.**

Bill blinked. "Come again?"

**When Harry was much younger he would annoy Lord Voldemort in his childish ways for attention. At those times Voldemort could barely restrain himself from cursing the ignorant child.**

"Huh?" Draco was befuddled. He shook himself, assuming that this was, perhaps, any adults natural reaction to an annoying young child. It wasn't like he actually ever hurt Harry. Besides, this was the Dark Lord they were talking about.

**But now, Voldemort realised that somehow Harry had managed to crawl into Lord Voldemort's heart and had made himself a part of the Dark Lord. Harry had become someone Lord Voldemort _needed_ in his life. If the Dark Lord was to ever lose Harry, there would be hell to pay.**

"Bloody hell." Ron swore, loud enough to be heard though no scolding came, the rest of the room feeling much the same way.

**Voldemort was brought out of his thoughts with a knock at the door. With a wave of his hand the door opened to reveal a Death Eater with long greasy hair. The Death Eater kneeled in front of Voldemort and waited for the command to rise to his feet. Lord Voldemort greeted his 'spy' Death Eater.**

Snape grinded his teeth together, knowing that he was not going to like what was to come.

**"Severus, I hope you have brought me some useful news about my son."**

**Severus Snape gave an involuntary shudder. 'Damn that Dumbledore for sending me in with such news' he thought to himself.**

Snape looked away from the other Order members, not willing to meet any gazes and see pity in their eyes.

**Snape picked himself up from the floor and tried to find the courage to tell his master his news.**

**"I have news about the Dark Prince, My Lord." Snape started.**

**Lord Voldemort stood up from his throne and silently walked over to Snape. He stood towering over the Death Eater.**

**"What news do you bring Severus?"**

**"My Lord, the Dark Prince is going to be moved to another location."**

**Snape hesitated for a second, silently cursing Albus Dumbledore.**

**"My Lord, The Dark Prince is going to Hogwarts."**

**Snape closed his eyes and bit back his cries of pain as the Cruciatus curse washed over him. He had felt the curse many times before at his master's hand but it had never been as intense as it was this time.**

**'Merlin, I hope Dumbledore knows what he's doing' was the last thought to cross Snape's mind as he plunged into unconsciousness.**

The Order members looked uncomfortably at the dark haired man, who had his gaze fixed firmly forwards. He refused to look down, but would not meet their gazes either.

"Severus, I-" Lily began, looking at her old friend gently. "I'm sorry. Thank you for all you have done for us." Snape did not look her way, but he nodded once, firmly.

And that was that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *yeah turns out deer and such can see really well in the dark, hence the James/Animagus thing. (I only did a quick Google, so if I'm wrong I'm sorry).
> 
> ** These are quotes both from the books and films. I do not own them in any way.


End file.
